Smerinthus ocellata
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Smerinthus ocellatus, the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The eyespots are not visible in resting position, where the forewings cover them. They are displayed when the moth feels threatened, and may startle a potential predator, giving the moth a chance to escape.
The adult (imago) is very similar in appearance to the other two western Palaearctic Smerinthus species, Smerinthus caecus and Smerinthus kindermannii but differentiated by an apical thorn on the foretibia, and the large, circular hindwing ocellus. The upperside forewings are marked in light and dark shades of brown and resemble the colouring of bark. The hindwings are pink coloured basally and then a yellow ochre. The hindwings are dominated by a large, blue, dark-centred and black-rimmed eyespot. The thorax has light brown sides and dark brown hairs in the middle. In addition to variations in the density of the forewing pattern intensity, differences in colour are also found on the hindwing. In f. flavescens Neumann hindwing pink is replaced by yellow in f. pallida Tutt by grey and in f... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 5 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 7 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 9 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 10 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eyed Hawkmoth sighting in Manchester on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 263rd most-seen of the 458 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eyed Hawkmoth in Manchester on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months.
Between 11 pm and 2 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eyed Hawkmoth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 16 cities where we can rate Eyed Hawkmoth sightings, Manchester ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Copenhagen (Denmark, about 10%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same family: Sphingidae
The closest relatives of the Eyed Hawkmoth that you can see in Manchester (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Elephant Hawkmoth (about 20%), Poplar Hawkmoth (about 10%) and Eurasian Hummingbird Hawkmoth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eyed Hawkmoth is recorded against all the insects logged in Manchester (12 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.
