Empyreuma pugione
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Empyreuma pugione, the spotted oleander caterpillar moth, is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is found in the West Indies, where it has been collected at elevations up to 733m, and has been introduced to the US state of Florida.
The wingspan is 43–48 mm. They fly during the day. The larvae feed on Nerium oleander, but are likely to have fed on a Caribbean species from a New World Apocynaceae genus such as Thevetia, Plumeria, Mandevilla, or Tabernaemontana prior to the introduction of oleander. They are light orange and hairy. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Oleander Moth sighting in Orlando on a given day, based on 92 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 294 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Oleander Moth in Orlando on a given day, against about 10% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Orlando's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain against 210 mm in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Oleander 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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Spotted Oleander Moth sightings, Orlando ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Oleander Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Orlando (92 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.
