Diaphone eumela
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Diaphone eumela, the cherry spot or lily borer, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa,Kenya and Angola. Like its relative, Brithys crini, this noctuid is found almost exclusively on plants of the families Amaryllidaceae and Liliaceae, and has been recorded feeding on Ornithogalum eckloni and Boophone disticha. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Spot sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 46 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 87th most-seen of the 311 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Spot in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months. Those are among Cape Town's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cherry Spot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Cherry Spot sightings, Cape Town has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Pretoria (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Cherry Spot that you can see in Cape Town (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Suring Moth (about 10%), Lily Borer (about 10%) and Cotton Bollworm Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cherry Spot is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Town (46 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.
