Spilosoma virginica
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Spilosoma virginica is a species of moth in the subfamily Arctiinae occurring in the United States and southern Canada. As a caterpillar, it is known as the yellow woolly bear or yellow bear caterpillar. As an adult, it is known as the Virginian tiger moth.
It is present throughout Northern America, but is more common in the Western half. The caterpillar is described as one of the most common on plantings about yards and gardens. The caterpillar varies in color but is typically consistent in its coloration in a single specimen, without odd tufts of different-colored hair or separately colored heads.
It has a diet of a wide range of low-growing plants, including ground cover like grass and clover. The larvae are defoliators, skeletonizing the leaves they feed on, but only the late summer batch of caterpillars is plentiful enough to do much damage to crops. This species tends to have two to three life cycles per year, with one hibernating for the winter in temperate climates.
The adult moth tends to tent its wings over its back, rather than sitting with them spread. It is... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 11 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 14 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Virginian Tiger Moth sighting in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 68 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Virginian Tiger Moth in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–June and October–December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Virginian Tiger Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Virginian Tiger Moth sightings, Cape Breton Highlands National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Isle Royale National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Virginian Tiger Moth that you can see in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Virginia Ctenucha Moth (about 30%), Cinnabar Moth (about 20%) and Isabella Tiger Moth (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Virginian Tiger Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (11 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.
