Lythria purpuraria
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Lythria purpuraria, the purple-barred yellow, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from western Europe to Siberia, Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Lythria purpuraria generally have two red-purple transverse lines in their green-yellow forewings. They are often confused with L. cruentaria, a sister species in the same family. This is because they are both available in a variety of sizes with multiple wing patterns. L. purpuraria and the other four species within the Lythria family have a very difficult genitalia structure, which is complicated to analyze and study.
Adults are on wing from April to June and again from July to September. It is a day-flying species. There are two generations per year. The larvae feed on prostrate knotweed, also known as Polygonum aviculare. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 2 | Bishkek | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | |
| 3 | Astana | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 4 | Bucharest | 🇷🇴 Romania | |
| 5 | Rostov-on-Don | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 8 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 9 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 10 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Barred Yellow sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 896th most-seen of the 996 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Barred Yellow in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. Those are among Cévennes National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against 260 mm in October.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple-Barred Yellow sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Purple-Barred Yellow sightings, Cévennes National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, about 20%) and Pyrénées National Park (France, under 5%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Purple-Barred Yellow that you can see in Cévennes National Park (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Willow Beauty (about 20%), Portland Ribbon Wave (about 10%) and Chimney-Sweeper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple-Barred Yellow is recorded against all the insects logged in Cévennes National Park (5 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.
