Tebenna micalis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Tebenna micalis, also known as the small thistle moth, is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae found worldwide. It was first described by the German Bohemian entomologist, Joseph Johann Mann in 1857. The wingspan is about 13 millimetres (0.51 in). It is similar in appearance to the Nearctic Tebenna gnaphaliella and can be found between June and August. It comes to light and can be found during the day on the flowers of the larval foodplant.
The larvae feed on Asteraceae within a blotch, sometimes leaving the mine and starting another. Later instars can live freely in a web on the leaf. Larval foodplants recorded include, on common fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica) in the United Kingdom. In Australia on capeweed (Arctotheca calendula), spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), horseweed (Erigeron canadensis), cotton thistle (Onopordum acanthium) and golden everlasting (Xerochrysum bracteatum); and in Réunion on globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus).
Larvae pupate on the underside of a leaf of the host plant, in a spindle-shaped cocoon. In Europe it is found south of the line Ireland, Great Britain, France and Slovakia. In Britain it is an immigrant that... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small Thistle Moth sighting in Lisbon on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 266th most-seen of the 441 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.
May and June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Thistle Moth in Lisbon on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months. Those are among Lisbon's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 95 mm in November.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Thistle Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Small Thistle Moth sightings, Lisbon ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Melbourne (Australia, about 10%), Auckland (New Zealand, about 10%) and Madrid (Spain, under 5%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Small Thistle Moth that you can see in Lisbon (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Speckled Wood (about 30%), Red Admiral (about 20%) and Old World Swallowtail (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Thistle Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Lisbon (10 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.
