Melanchra persicariae
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The dot moth (Melanchra persicariae) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is a very distinctive species with very dark brown, almost black, forewings marked with a large white stigma from which the species gets its common name. The hindwings are grey with a dark band at the termen. The wingspan is 38–50 mm. It flies at night in July and August[1] and is attracted to light, sugar and flowers.
The distribution area ranges from Spain in the west to Korea and Japan. It is found throughout Europe apart from the south-east. To the north it is found in Scotland and southern Fennoscandia, east through southern Russia, the Russian Far East and Siberia and Central Asia to the Kamchatka Peninsula. Then northern China to Korea and Japan. The southern boundary runs through northern Spain, Italy (except for Sicily), Macedonia, Bulgaria, Asia Minor, the southern Caucasus, northern Iran. In the Alps it rises up to about 1000 m.
Seitz, 1914, notes "forewing purplish black; the lines and edges of stigmata blacker; reniform filled up with cream white round a rufous centre; submarginal... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 4 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dot Moth sighting in Helsinki on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 732nd most-seen of the 838 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.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dot Moth in Helsinki on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dot Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Dot Moth sightings, Helsinki ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Manchester (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Dot Moth that you can see in Helsinki (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Large Yellow Underwing (about 10%), Silver Υ (about 10%) and Antler Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dot Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Helsinki (6 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.
