Tathorhynchus fallax
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Tathorhynchus is a monotypic genus of moth in the family Erebidae erected by George Hampson in 1894. Its only species, Tathorhynchus exsiccata, the Levant blackneck or double-spotted snout, was first described by Julius Lederer in 1855. The nominate form is found on the Canary Islands and in North Africa, tropical Asia and tropical Africa. It has been introduced in Dominica and Argentina. Subspecies Tathorhynchus exsiccata fallax is found in the northern half of Australia, as well as Norfolk Island and New Zealand.
This species was transferred to Lygephila exsiccata by Goater et al. in 2003, but was returned to Tathorhynchus Hampson by Fibiger and Hacker in 2005. T. exsiccata Led. (= vinctalis Walk.) Forewing whitish, thickly suffused with grey brown, darker towards termen; the orbicular and reniform stigmata marked by pale spots separated by a black dash; another beyond reniform; outer line pale preceded by black marks; a terminal row of black lunules; hindwing greyish white, darker terminally.
The wingspan is about 40 mm. Tathorhynchus exsiccata exsiccata Tathorhynchus exsiccata fallax The larvae... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Alfalfa Moth sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 450th most-seen of the 1083 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Alfalfa Moth in Brisbane on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. Those are among Brisbane's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 160 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australian Alfalfa Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Brisbane, in our data
Brisbane is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Australian Alfalfa Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Australian Alfalfa Moth that you can see in Brisbane (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Oriental Leafworm Moth (about 10%), Yellow Tiger Moth (about 10%) and Lawn Armyworm Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Australian Alfalfa Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (29 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.
