Syntomoides imaon
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Syntomoides imaon, the handmaiden moth, is a moth of subfamily Arctiinae, subtribe Ctenuchina. The systematics of the subfamily has been revised. It was described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is found in Pakistan (Sindh), India (Sikkim, Khasi hills, Tamil Nadu, Kerala), Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, China (Hong Kong), Thailand and Vietnam.
The moth has a wingspan of 34 mm. The frons and collar are yellow with the metathorax having a yellow streak. The first abdominal segment has a yellow band which is sometimes obsolescent. The forewing has large hyaline patches, one filling the cell, another filling nearly the whole interno-median interspace, one at junction of veins 2 and 3, two subapical, and two submarginal. In the form S. i. sargania, there is a long streak between veins 5 and 6. In others it is reduced to a spot or may be lacking entirely. The hindwing has a postbasal hyaline patch extending hardly (or not at all) beyond the cell. The tips of the antennae and proximal joints of the tarsi are white. The spots of the forewing vary considerably in size. The male individual is slender and long abdomen than female. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 7 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naha | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Dehradun | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Berhampore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Tuen Mun | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 5 | Chandigarh | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Handmaiden Moth sighting in Mumbai on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 126th most-seen of the 362 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.
June–July and September–March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Handmaiden Moth in Mumbai on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and August, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Handmaiden Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
19th of 25
Of the 25 cities where we can rate Handmaiden Moth sightings, Mumbai ranks 19th at about 10%. The best odds are in Naha (Japan, about 30%), Dehradun (India, about 30%) and Berhampore (India, about 30%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Handmaiden Moth that you can see in Mumbai (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Footman Moth (about 10%), Banyan Tussock Moth (about 10%) and Seven-Spotted Handmaiden Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Handmaiden Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Mumbai (27 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.
