Amata passalis
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
Amata passalis, the sandalwood defoliator, is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1781. It is found in Sri Lanka and India. The average life cycle of the species in captivity is 62 days. After mating, the adult female lays about 305 eggs in a lifespan of 3.87 days. It is known to breed all year around and passes through 6-11 generations a year. There are eight larval instars. First and last instar larvae are about 1.97 mm and 29.29 mm in length, respectively. Adults usually emerge within 1 to 2 hours of sunrise. After a day, they are ready for mating.
It is known mainly as a defoliator of sandalwood (Santalum album) in India. It is also recorded on various alternate food plants, mainly cowpeas, various other pulses, and ornamental plants. The larval stage of Apanteles nepitae can be used as a parasite to control the moth.
Phaseolus vulgaris Santalum album Trichosanthes anguina Vigna unguiculata Capsicum annuum Brassica caulorapa Capsicum annuum Phaseolus vulgaris Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Prayagraj | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Surat | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Bhubaneshwar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Madurai | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sandalwood Defoliator sighting in Ponnani on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 76 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Sandalwood Defoliator in Ponnani on a given day, against under 5% in January–May, August–September and November, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sandalwood Defoliator sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 23
Of the 23 cities where we can rate Sandalwood Defoliator sightings, Ponnani ranks 8th at about 30%. The best odds are in Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 40%), Coimbatore (India, about 40%) and Prayagraj (India, about 40%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Sandalwood Defoliator that you can see in Ponnani (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Dot-Underwing Moth (about 20%), Handmaiden Moth (about 20%) and Footman Moth (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sandalwood Defoliator is recorded against all the insects logged in Ponnani (23 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.
