Catocala maestosa
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Catocala maestosa, commonly known as the sad underwing, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by George Duryea Hulst in 1884. It is found in the United States from New York south to Florida and Alabama, west to Texas and eastern Oklahoma and north to Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota.
The wingspan is 78–98 mm. Adults are on wing from July to October depending on the location. There is probably one generation per year. The larvae feed on Carya aquatica, Carya illinoinensis and Juglans nigra. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sad Underwing sighting in Austin on a given day, based on 182 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 181st most-seen of the 1624 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sad Underwing in Austin on a given day, against under 5% in November to May, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sad Underwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Sad Underwing sightings, Austin ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Dallas (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Catocala
The closest relatives of the Sad Underwing that you can see in Austin (genus Catocala, Underwing Moths) are Little Nymph Underwing (about 10%) and Agrippina Underwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sad Underwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Austin (182 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.
