Orgyia antiqua
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Orgyia antiqua, the rusty tussock moth or vapourer, is a moth in the family Erebidae. O. antiqua is native to Europe, but now has a transcontinental distribution in the Palaearctic and the Nearctic regions. The species is not on the IUCN (2007) Red List; and in the UK is considered a common resident.
In the UK, O. antiqua may be encountered in a variety of shrub-based habitats, including gardens, parks, open woodland, fens, hedgerows, heaths, and moors. A striking dimorphism exists between the male and the female moths of this species. The male moth typically has orange- to red-brown (ochreous red and dark brown) wings; each fore wing has a white comma-shaped (tornal) spot. It has marked plumose (short, bipectinate) antennae. The wingspan measures between 35 and 38 mm. The female moth has vestigial wings and is flightless; it is light grey-brown (ochreous grey), has "shortly bipectinate" antennae, and a swollen abdomen. The compound eyes of the two sexes differ not only with regard to their size, number of facets and internal organization and ultrastructure, but also with regard to their sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 8 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 9 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rusty Tussock Moth sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 730th 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.
June and August–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rusty Tussock Moth in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and November–May, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rusty Tussock 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.
11th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Rusty Tussock Moth sightings, Cévennes National Park ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Cairngorms National Park (United Kingdom, about 20%), Denali National Park (United States, about 10%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Rusty Tussock Moth that you can see in Cévennes National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Cream-Spot Tiger (about 20%), Spongy Moth (about 20%) and Four-Spotted Footman (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rusty Tussock Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Cévennes National Park (7 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.
