Ascotis selenaria
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Ascotis selenaria, the giant looper, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. Ascotis selenaria dianaria (Hübner, 1817) Ascotis selenaria selenaria (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
The front wings are characterized by a yellowish-white ground color, with numerous dark grey markings and two brownish sharply toothed transverse lines. The front and rear wings show distinctive moon shaped spots. The color and pattern of the caterpillars vary from green to yellow/green or brown resembling twigs. They have a characteristic bulbous swelling on the thorax and move with a looping motion as usual in measuring worms.
The giant looper has two generations per year in southern Europe, flying from April to May and from July to August. However, further North it's possible that they only fly in one generation. They are attracted to light. The caterpillars can be found from September to... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Citrus Looper sighting in Beijing on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 349th most-seen of the 401 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.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Citrus Looper in Beijing on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Beijing's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain against almost none in January.
Between midnight and 3 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Citrus Looper sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
5th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Citrus Looper sightings, Beijing ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kyiv (Ukraine, about 10%), Lyon (France, under 5%) and Milan (Italy, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Citrus Looper is recorded against all the insects logged in Beijing (5 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.
