Erannis defoliaria
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The mottled umber (Erannis defoliaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is common throughout much of the Palearctic region. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759. Only males of the species have wings, the female is completely wingless. Patterns on wings vary by specimen, the wingspan is 30-40mm. The adults fly from October to December in temperate climates.
The female of this species is wingless and rather spider-like and can be found on the trunks and stems of its larval food plants. She is white or yellow-and-black patched. The male is fully winged and very variable. The ground colour of the forewing is pale yellow or light yellow ochre and suffused dark grey. The basal and distal fasciae are dark brown. The basal fascia is bordered on the inner side by a brown cloud; the distal fascia has a brown cloud on the outer edge. There is also a brown cloud along the costa. There are two dark brown oblong spots in the upper half of the terminal area. The hindwing is grey white with grey suffusion. There is a grey-black discal spot on both wings. There are numerous and significant deviations from... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mottled Umber sighting in Cologne on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 84th most-seen of the 235 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.
November and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mottled Umber in Cologne on a given day, against under 5% in February–March and June–October, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mottled Umber sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
13th of 25
Of the 25 cities where we can rate Mottled Umber sightings, Cologne ranks 13th at about 10%. The best odds are in Vienna (Austria, about 20%), Kharkiv (Ukraine, about 10%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Mottled Umber that you can see in Cologne (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Small Dusty Wave (about 10%), Willow Beauty (about 10%) and Least Carpet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mottled Umber is recorded against all the insects logged in Cologne (15 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.
