Poecilasthena schistaria
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Poecilasthena schistaria, the kanuka looper, is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in New Zealand. The wings vary from very pale brown to rather dull purplish-brown with numerous jagged, darker transverse lines. Adults are on wing from October to April.
The larvae feed on Leptospermum scoparium. They are dull green with a white more or less black-edged band down each side. There is a thin central white line on the back, and a narrow yellow line half-way between it and the lateral white band. The head is dull green. Pupation takes place in a slight cocoon below the surface of the earth. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Kanuka Looper sighting in Auckland on a given day, based on 104 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 76th 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 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Kanuka Looper in Auckland on a given day, against under 5% in March, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Kanuka Looper 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.
Only Auckland, in our data
Auckland is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Kanuka Looper sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Kanuka Looper is recorded against all the insects logged in Auckland (104 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.
