Halysidota cinctipes
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Halysidota cinctipes, the gartered halysidota or Florida tussock moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1865. It is found on Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas and in the US states of Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. The range possibly extends through Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama to Venezuela, Brazil and Peru.
The wingspan is about 42 mm. The larvae feed on Coccoloba floridana, Coccoloba uvifera, Hibiscus species and possibly Trema micrantha. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Tussock Moth sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 208 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 67th most-seen of the 826 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.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Tussock Moth in Miami on a given day, against under 5% in July to September, the lowest months. That is one of Miami's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 190 mm in June.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Florida Tussock Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 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 Florida Tussock Moth sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Florida Tussock Moth 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 Florida Tussock Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Miami (208 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.
