Agrotis venerabilis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Agrotis venerabilis, the dusky cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1857. It is found from coast to coast from central Canada south to Mexico. The wingspan is about 37 mm. Adults are on wing from August to September in temperate climes within their range. They have a much wider season in the Neotropics, starting at least as early as March.
The larvae feed on Medicago sativa, Trifolium, Nicotiana tabacum, Viola, Stellaria media, Avena sativa and Zea mays. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Venerable Dart sighting in Austin on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 1503rd most-seen of the 1624 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Venerable Dart in Austin on a given day, against under 5% in December to October, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Venerable Dart sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Venerable Dart sightings, Austin ranks 4th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Edmonton (Canada, under 5%), Toronto (Canada, under 5%) and Montreal (Canada, under 5%).
Same genus: Agrotis
The closest relatives of the Venerable Dart that you can see in Austin (genus Agrotis) are Ipsilon Dart Moth (about 10%) and Rascal Dart (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Venerable Dart is recorded against all the insects logged in Austin (6 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.
