Composia fidelissima
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Composia fidelissima the faithful beauty or Uncle Sam moth is a moth in the family Erebidae. It is found in southern Florida and the West Indies, including Cuba. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1866.
The moth's forewings are black with rows of white dots and red around the costal margin. Their hindwings fade from blue into black, with white dots around the edge. Their thorax continues the trend of white-speckled black, while their abdomen takes on the same blue color of their hindwings.
They have a wingspan of 48–64 mm. Adults are on wing year round. They are day flying. The larvae feed on Cynanchum scoparium, Canavalia (including Canavalia rosea), Nerium (including Nerium oleander) and Echites species (including Echites umbellatus).
Composia fidelissima fidelissima Composia fidelissima vagrans Bates, 1933 Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Celestún Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Faithful Beauty sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 63 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 183rd most-seen of the 826 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June, September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Faithful Beauty in Miami on a given day, against under 5% in July–August, October and December–April, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Faithful Beauty sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Miami, in our data
Miami is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Faithful Beauty sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Faithful Beauty that you can see in Miami (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Edwards' Wasp Moth (about 10%), Polka-Dot Wasp Moth (about 10%) and Ornate Bella Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Faithful Beauty is recorded against all the insects logged in Miami (63 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.
