Persectania ewingii
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Persectania ewingii, commonly known as the southern armyworm, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. It is found in the southern and eastern regions of Australia and often migrates across the Bass Strait to Tasmania.
The wingspan of Persectania ewingii is approximately 40 mm. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Armyworm sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 220 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 875 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October–May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Armyworm in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and September, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Armyworm sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Melbourne, in our data
Melbourne is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Southern Armyworm sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Armyworm that you can see in Melbourne (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Bogong Moth (about 20%), Australian Grapevine Moth (about 10%) and Brown Cutworm (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Armyworm is recorded against all the insects logged in Melbourne (220 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.
