Yponomeuta cagnagellus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Yponomeuta cagnagella, the spindle ermine, is a moth from the family Yponomeutidae, the ermine moths. The wingspan of the moth ranges from 19 to 26 millimetres. The head is white. Forewings are white; four longitudinal series of few black dots, first not reaching middle, second beginning near before middle, lowest including 4-7 dots; some additional black dots before termen; cilia white. Hindwings are dark grey. The larva is pale greyish-yellowish; spots black; head black.
Flight time ranges from the end of June to October. The moth is attracted to light. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spindle Ermine Moth sighting in Cologne on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 73rd 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.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spindle Ermine Moth in Cologne on a given day, against under 5% in August to March, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spindle Ermine Moth sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all 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 Spindle Ermine Moth sightings, Cologne ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kharkiv (Ukraine, about 10%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Spindle Ermine Moth that you can see in Cologne (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Red Admiral (about 20%), European Peacock Butterfly (about 20%) and Cinnabar Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spindle Ermine Moth 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.
