Helastia cinerearia
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Helastia cinerearia is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and can be found in the North, South and Stewart Islands as well as on the Mercury and Chatham Islands. The preferred habitat of H. cinerearia includes urban gardens, various types of forest and sub alpine habitats. The larval host is lichen on rocks. The adult moths are on the wing all year round but are most commonly observed from September until February. Adult moths are nocturnal and have been observed feeding from and likely pollinating Hebe salicifolia, Hoheria lyallii and Leptospermum scoparium.
This species was first described by Edward Doubleday in 1843 and named Cidaria cinerearia. George Hudson illustrated and discussed this species under the name Xanthorhoe cinerearia in 1928 in his book The moths and butterflies of New Zealand. In 1939 Louis Beethoven Prout placed this species in the genus Larentia. In 1971 J. S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Helastia and went on to confirm this placement in his 1988 publication Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa. Robin C. Craw when revising the Helastia genus discussed this species in 1987. The... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Helastia cinerearia sighting in Auckland on a given day, based on 75 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 96th most-seen of the 689 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Helastia cinerearia in Auckland on a given day, against under 5% in November, the lowest month.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Helastia cinerearia sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Auckland, in our data
Auckland is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Helastia cinerearia sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Helastia cinerearia that you can see in Auckland (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Epyaxa lucidata (about 20%), Apple Looper (about 20%) and Cabbage Tree Moth (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Helastia cinerearia is recorded against all the insects logged in Auckland (75 verified sightings), 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.
