Basiothia medea
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Basiothia medea, the small verdant hawk, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is common in open habitats throughout the Ethiopian Region, including Madagascar. It is however probably absent from the equatorial forest belt, except as a vagrant. The species is an active migrant.
The length of the forewings is 22–25 mm and the wingspan is 49–63 mm. The larvae feed on Spermacoce natalensis, Dioda, Spermacoce, Pentas and Pentasinia species. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small Verdant Hawkmoth sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 345th most-seen of the 401 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Verdant Hawkmoth in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in June to March, the lowest months. Those are among Durban's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in January.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Verdant Hawkmoth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Durban, in our data
Durban is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Small Verdant Hawkmoth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Sphingidae
The closest relatives of the Small Verdant Hawkmoth that you can see in Durban (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Vine Hawkmoth (about 10%), Verdant Hawkmoth (about 10%) and Common Striped Hawkmoth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Verdant Hawkmoth is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (5 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.
