Brithys crini
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Brithys crini, the amaryllis borer, crinum borer, lily borer or Kew arches, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a garden pest in parts of its range, as their larvae damage the stems and leaves of lilies, especially lilies of the family Amaryllidaceae.
It is found in the coastal areas of Southern Europe and North Africa, south to South Africa. Furthermore, it is found in Japan and in Queensland and Northern Territory in Australia towards India and Sri Lanka. The wingspan of the moth is about 40 mm. Its head, thorax and forewings are very dark brown, but paler toward the wingtips. Sub-basal, median and postmedial indistinct waved lines are black. A curved submarginal ochreous line with ferrous colored lunules found on each side of it. There is a marginal black lunule series. The hindwings are practically white. Tarsi bear black and white stripes. In Europe the adults are on the wing in July.
There are several generations per year, though development slows down in cooler seasons, when the larvae sometimes overwinter by boring into the bulbs of the host plants. The moth lays clusters of a few dozen eggs on the host plant leaves. The... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lily Borer sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 124 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 38th most-seen of the 311 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lily Borer in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in October, the lowest month.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lily Borer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Lily Borer sightings, Cape Town ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Pretoria (South Africa, about 10%) and Johannesburg (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Lily Borer that you can see in Cape Town (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Suring Moth (about 10%), Cotton Bollworm Moth (about 10%) and Cherry Spot (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lily Borer is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Town (124 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.
