Acronicta euphorbiae
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Acronicta euphorbiae, the sweet gale moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. Acronicta auricoma Acronicta megacephala Acronicta aceris Acronicta menyanthidis
This species is distributed through parts of the Palearctic south of a line that is across southern Poland, from northern Scotland, northeastern Netherlands/border with north-western Germany, southeastward through the northern Czech Republic, Ukraine and southern Russia to the Ural mountains.
These moths prefer warm, sunny slopes, grassy heaths, moorland and forests. In the Alps, they rise up to over 2500 metres above sea level. The wingspan of Acronicta euphorbiae can reach 32–40 mm. The females are slightly larger than the males and have darker hindwings. Forewings are grey dusted with darker; orbicular stigma is close beyond inner line; hindwings are white in male, fuscous in female with pale cilia.
The ab. montivaga Guen. is a mountain form, with darker, bluer grey forewings, occurring in the Alps and in Norway. The ab. myricae Guen., occurring in the Scottish and Irish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 3 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sweet Gale Moth sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 241st most-seen of the 300 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sweet Gale Moth in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sweet Gale Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Sweet Gale Moth sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Vanoise National Park (France, about 10%), Hohe Tauern National Park (Austria, about 10%) and Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 10%).
Same genus: Acronicta
The closest relatives of the Sweet Gale Moth that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (genus Acronicta, Dagger Moths) are Knot Grass Moth (about 10%), Grey Dagger (about 10%) and The Miller (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sweet Gale Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
