Tethea ocularis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Tethea ocularis, the figure of eighty, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout Continental Europe and has a scattered distribution in England and Wales, although it is absent from Scotland and Ireland.
The wingspan is 35–45 mm; the dark brown forewings being marked with dark-centred white stigmata which do look rather like the number 80. The hindwings are grey. The species flies from May to July[1] and is attracted to light and sugar.
The grey and white larva feeds on poplar and aspen. The species overwinters as a pupa. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Figure Of Eighty sighting in London on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 842nd most-seen of the 1504 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
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Figure Of Eighty in London on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Figure Of Eighty sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Figure Of Eighty sightings, London ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%), Kyiv (Ukraine, under 5%) and Birmingham (United Kingdom, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Figure Of Eighty is recorded against all the insects logged in London (16 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.
