Polytela gloriosae
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Polytela gloriosae, the Indian lily moth or lily caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1781. It is found in Sri Lanka, India and probably in Indonesia.
The wingspan of the male is 29 mm. Its eyes are hairy and its proboscis is fully developed. Palpi porrect (extending forward) and roughly scaled. Head and thorax are blue black. Antennae orange. Three orange specks are found on the metathorax. Abdomen blackish with orange terminal segments. Forewings blue black. There is an orange speck at the base. Two pink and black lunules run towards the inner margin. Orbicular is yellow with a ring mark. Reniform yellowish. Large orange blotches are found at the apex and outer angle. Hindwings fuscous.
The caterpillar is smooth and purple black. Series of white spots on dorsal, lateral, and sublateral areas. Purplish lateral blotches on thoracic somites. Head and legs are reddish. Early instars are more reddish brown. Body colour turns darker as the caterpillar reaches later instars. Eggs are small spherical and yellow.
The female lays 80 to 90 eggs in 2 to 4 clusters. Eggs are hatched within... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Lily Moth sighting in Chennai on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 117th most-seen of the 376 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Lily Moth in Chennai on a given day, against under 5% in February and April–June, the lowest months. Those are among Chennai's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in February.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Lily Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
16th of 19
Of the 19 cities where we can rate Indian Lily Moth sightings, Chennai ranks 16th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kota (India, about 30%), Prayagraj (India, about 30%) and Nagpur (India, about 30%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Indian Lily Moth that you can see in Chennai (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Oriental Leafworm Moth (about 10%) and Enispa elataria (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Lily Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Chennai (26 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.
