Spodoptera mauritia
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Spodoptera mauritia, the lawn armyworm or paddy swarming caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1833. Able to eat many types of food, it is a major pest throughout the world.
It is widespread from the Red Sea to India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaya to Australia and widespread in the Pacific Islands, including the Solomons, New Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, the Society Islands, Austral Islands, Marquesas and the Marshall Islands.
The wingspan is about 40 mm. It is dark grey brown with a rusty tinge on its body. The abdomen is fuscous. Forewings with sub-basal, antemedial and postmedial double waved lines indistinct. The orbicular small and ochreous, whereas reniform blackish. Submarginal line whitish and irregularly waved. There is a white patch often can be seen between orbicular and reniform and a dark patch on the central marginal area. Hindwings opalescent and semi-hyaline white, with a dark marginal line.
The larvae feed on various grasses, including rice, wheat, Cynodon, Pennisetum clandestinum, Sorghum bicolor, Oryza sativa, and trees such as Casuarina equisetifolia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lawn Armyworm Moth sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 207 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 80th most-seen of the 1083 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and December–February
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lawn Armyworm Moth in Brisbane on a given day, against under 5% in July and October, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lawn Armyworm Moth 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.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Lawn Armyworm Moth sightings, Brisbane has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Harare (Zimbabwe, about 10%) and Perth (Australia, under 5%).
Same genus: Spodoptera
The closest relatives of the Lawn Armyworm Moth that you can see in Brisbane (genus Spodoptera, Armyworm Moths) are Oriental Leafworm Moth (about 10%) and Lily Caterpillar Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lawn Armyworm Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (207 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.
