Carcina quercana
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Carcina quercana is a species of moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in Europe. It has been introduced recently in North America, British Columbia and western Washington. It is occasionally known by several common names including oak lantern, long-horned flat-body, and oak-skeletonizer moth (the last most common in North America).
The wingspan is 16–20 mm. The forewings are light ochreous, more or less purple-tinged, sprinkled with dark fuscous; costal edge purple; a yellow blotch along costa near base, and another beyond middle; a fuscous transverse line at 1/4, followed by a yellowish suffusion towards dorsum; stigmata dark grey, plical usually faint; a terminal purple line; cilia bright yellow except on tornus. Hindwings are yellow-whitish, apex rosy-tinged. The larva is pale green; dorsal line darker, paler -edged; head yellowish-green,
The larvae feed on various deciduous trees, including oak and beech. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Porto | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 4 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 9 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Oak Lantern sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 590th most-seen of the 996 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.
June to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Oak Lantern in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months. Those are among Cévennes National Park's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain a month against 260 mm in October.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oak Lantern sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Oak Lantern sightings, Cévennes National Park ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 10%), Wadden Sea National Park (Germany, about 10%) and Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oak Lantern is recorded against all the insects logged in Cévennes National Park (12 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.
