Amata passalis
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Amata passalis, the sandalwood defoliator, is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1781. It is found in Sri Lanka and India. The average life cycle of the species in captivity is 62 days. After mating, the adult female lays about 305 eggs in a lifespan of 3.87 days. It is known to breed all year around and passes through 6-11 generations a year. There are eight larval instars. First and last instar larvae are about 1.97 mm and 29.29 mm in length, respectively. Adults usually emerge within 1 to 2 hours of sunrise. After a day, they are ready for mating.
It is known mainly as a defoliator of sandalwood (Santalum album) in India. It is also recorded on various alternate food plants, mainly cowpeas, various other pulses, and ornamental plants. The larval stage of Apanteles nepitae can be used as a parasite to control the moth.
Phaseolus vulgaris Santalum album Trichosanthes anguina Vigna unguiculata Capsicum annuum Brassica caulorapa Capsicum annuum Phaseolus vulgaris Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Prayagraj | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Surat | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Bhubaneshwar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Madurai | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sandalwood Defoliator sighting in Madurai on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 13th most-seen of the 19 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Sandalwood Defoliator in Madurai on a given day, against under 5% in January, June and August, the lowest months. That is one of Madurai's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 200 mm in October.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sandalwood Defoliator sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 23
Of the 23 cities where we can rate Sandalwood Defoliator sightings, Madurai ranks 10th at about 30%. The best odds are in Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 40%), Coimbatore (India, about 40%) and Prayagraj (India, about 40%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Sandalwood Defoliator that you can see in Madurai (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Plain Tiger Butterfly (about 40%), Lime Swallowtail (about 40%) and Lemon Pansy (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sandalwood Defoliator is recorded against all the insects logged in Madurai (5 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.
