Jodis lactearia
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Jodis lactearia, the little emerald, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, from Ireland to Japan.
The wingspan is 23–26 mm. When freshly emerged from the pupa the ground colour is delicate light green, but this fades to white. There are two white medial lines on forewings and hindwings. The white postmedian line is on both wings almost entirely parallel to the distal margin, and not dentate. The hindwing is slightly angled. The larva is long and thin, green, the head is divided by a deep cleft into two pointed lobes.
The larva mainly feeds on various trees and bushes, including Betula, Crataegus and Quercus species. It frequents wooded country, and flies rather early in the evening. Its flight is weak and vacillating, and never very long sustained. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Emerald sighting in Paris on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 827th most-seen of the 916 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Emerald in Paris on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Emerald sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Little Emerald sightings, Paris ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Porto (Portugal, about 10%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Little Emerald that you can see in Paris (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Mottled Umber (about 10%), Small Dusty Wave (about 10%) and Double-Striped Pug (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Emerald is recorded against all the insects logged in Paris (7 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.
