Erechthias simulans
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Erechthias simulans is a species of fungus moth (family Tineidae). It is here considered to belong to the somewhat controversial type genus of its subfamily Erechthiinae, though even fairly recently some authors have proposed to retain other genera such as Decadarchis separate from Erechthias. Decadarchis, with E. simulans as type species (under the obsolete name Decadarchis melanastra), would in fact contain this moth and its closest relatives, regardless whether it is recognized as full genus or as subgenus. These relatives are generally held to be a group of mainly Polynesian species. E. simulans has also been mistaken for a species of the closely related genus Comodica; while the delimitation of this versus Erechthias/Decadarchis is not universally agreed upon, E. simulans is not included in Comodica anymore by modern authors.
This moth is widespread across Polynesia and ranges into some adjacent regions. It is known from Fiji, Samoa, the Ellice Islands, the Hawaiian Islands (including Midway Island), the Marquesas (at least Hiva Oa, Nuku Hiva, Tahuata), the Society Islands and Solomon Islands, Australia (at least Queensland), and eastern Africa. On higher islands, it may preferably occur near the coast. Its original distribution is probably undeterminable; it shows some traits of a supertramp species, but has likely been assisted to spread across its present range by human transport of its food plants. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Erechthias simulans sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 601st 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 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Erechthias simulans in Brisbane on a given day, against under 5% in March to January, the lowest months. That is one of Brisbane's wettest months, with about 160 mm of rain against 40 mm in July.
Only Brisbane, in our data
Brisbane is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Erechthias simulans sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Erechthias simulans is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (13 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.
