Furcula furcula
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Furcula furcula, the sallow kitten, is a moth from the family Notodontidae. It was first described by the Swedish entomologist Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759 from a specimen found in Sweden. The moth can be found in Europe (including the Mediterranean region), Anatolia and through Asia to China. It is also found in North America.
The sallow kitten is grey/white and has a wingspan of 27 to 35 mm. The first part of the wing has a large grey middle band. It differs from the poplar kitten (Furcula bifida) in its generally smaller size, but more especially in the shape of the black line forming the outer margin of the central band; this is always more or less angled or dentate towards the front margin of the wings, whereas, in the poplar kitten, this portion of the line forms a clean curve.
The blackish grey median band is sharply edged with black, its distal sinus usually extends only to the apex of the cell; beyond the middle 3 parallel dentate lines. In borealis Borkh, from Lapland and Northern Russia, thorax and wings are blackish smoke-colour; specimens from Amurland also are somewhat darker than those from Central... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sallow Kitten sighting in Birmingham on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 616th most-seen of the 811 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.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sallow Kitten in Birmingham on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sallow Kitten sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Sallow Kitten sightings, Birmingham ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Essen (Germany, under 5%).
Same family: Notodontidae
The closest relatives of the Sallow Kitten that you can see in Birmingham (family Notodontidae, Prominent Moths) are Buff-Tip (about 10%) and Iron Prominent (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sallow Kitten is recorded against all the insects logged in Birmingham (7 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.
