Smoky Wainscot

Smoky Wainscot

Mythimna impura

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Moscow

In 3 days ~10%

8 Verified sightings at Moscow
57 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Smoky Wainscot

Mythimna impura, the smoky wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1808. It is distributed throughout most of the Palearctic realm from Ireland in the west of Europe east to the Caucasus, Turkey, Syria, Kazakhstan, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, then Japan. In Europe it is found from the Arctic Circle to Spain and Italy (including Sicily) in the south, as well as in the northern regions of Greece.

As with other "wainscots", this species has buffish yellow forewings with prominent venation. The smoky wainscot has a dark basal streak with another shorter streak nearer to the costa and tornus. This species has grey hindwings with white margins. The wingspan is 31–38 mm.

Forewing ochreous, with a rufous tinge; veins, especially the median, whiter, lined by fine brown streaks, which also appear in the interspaces; a dark shade below median nervure; a black clot at lower angle of cell; outer row of dots shown only by those on veins 2 and 5; hindwing dull grey. - ab. dungana Alph., from Turkestan and Tibet, is a darker, more fuscous, form in which the dark streaks become obscured; - ab. transbaikalensis... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
2 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
3 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
2 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
3 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
4 Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
5 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
6 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
<5%
7 Moscow 🇷🇺 Russia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Smoky Wainscot in Moscow?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Smoky Wainscot sighting in Moscow on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 841st most-seen of the 1111 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Smoky Wainscot in Moscow?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Smoky Wainscot in Moscow on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Smoky Wainscot?

Between 10 pm and 1 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Smoky Wainscot 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.

Is Moscow the best place to see a Smoky Wainscot?

7th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Smoky Wainscot sightings, Moscow ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%), Manchester (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 10%).

Where does the Smoky Wainscot sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Smoky Wainscot is recorded against all the insects logged in Moscow (8 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.

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