Cyclophora nanaria
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Cyclophora nanaria, the dwarf tawny wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in the US from California to Texas and from New Jersey to Florida west along the Gulf Coast. The range extends south through Dominica and Jamaica to Argentina. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.
The wingspan is about 16 mm. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 4 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dwarf Tawny Wave sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 133 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 140th most-seen of the 851 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.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dwarf Tawny Wave in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Los Angeles's driest months, with almost no rain against 75 mm in February.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dwarf Tawny Wave sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
7th of 13
Of the 13 cities where we can rate Dwarf Tawny Wave sightings, Los Angeles ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Austin (United States, about 10%), San Diego (United States, about 10%) and Santiago (Chile, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dwarf Tawny Wave is recorded against all the insects logged in Los Angeles (133 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.
