Hyles euphorbiae
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Hyles euphorbiae, the spurge hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae. This hawk moth is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious weed leafy spurge (Euphorbia virgata), but usually only in conjunction with other agents. The larvae consume the leaves and bracts of the plant. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The Spurge Hawk-Moth - Fore wings grey, with an almost square olive-brown blotch; at the base another olive-brown blotch near the middle, and a long oblique band of the same colour, commencing in a point at the extreme apex of the wing, and gradually growing wider until it reaches the margin, where it is very broad: hind wings pink, with a black blotch at the base, and a black band half-way between this black blotch and the margin, and a snowy-white blotch at the anal angle: thorax and body olive-brown, with a white line on each side of the thorax just at the base of the wings; this line runs on each side along the head just above the eye, and the two meet at the nose; the body has on each side at the base two square black spots and two square white spots, and beyond... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 9 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth sighting in Barcelona on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 179th most-seen of the 381 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth in Barcelona on a given day, against under 5% in December to September, the lowest months. That is one of Barcelona's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against 35 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth 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 7 cities where we can rate Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth sightings, Barcelona ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Calgary (Canada, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth is recorded against all the insects logged in Barcelona (16 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.
