Orgyia postica
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Orgyia postica, the cocoa tussock moth or hevea tussock moth, is a species of moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae of the family Erebidae found in the Oriental tropics of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, and Taiwan. It was described by Francis Walker in 1855.
The wingspan is 20–30 mm for males. In the male, the head, thorax, and abdomen are brownish. Forewings are brown with an indistinct oblique sub-basal line. Waved antemedial and postmedial lines approach each other at the lower angle of the cell. The area between them is slightly tinged with bluish grey and has a waved dark line edged with white on each side of the discocellulars. Two indistinct, waved submarginal lines are present. The apex is slightly tinged with grey and has some subapical dark streaks. Hindwings are dark brown. The female is wingless.
Larvae are yellowish and clothed sparsely with brown hair. One dorsal and two lateral brown bands are seen. Paired tufts of hair are on the first and eleventh somites, projecting forward and backward. Lateral tufts of grey hair project from the fourth and fifth somites. Dorsal tufts of yellow hair are on the fourth to seventh somites. The head... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cocoa Tussock Moth sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 182 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 56th most-seen of the 1125 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cocoa Tussock Moth in Hong Kong on a given day, against about 10% in May–October and December–February, the lowest months. Those are among Hong Kong's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against 280 mm in June.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cocoa Tussock Moth sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 10
Of the 10 cities where we can rate Cocoa Tussock Moth sightings, Hong Kong ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Taipei (Taiwan, about 20%) and Taichung (Taiwan, about 20%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Cocoa Tussock Moth that you can see in Hong Kong (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Banyan Tussock Moth (about 20%), Orvasca subnotata (about 20%) and Zhejiang Tussock Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cocoa Tussock Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (182 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.
