Lythria purpuraria
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Lythria purpuraria, the purple-barred yellow, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from western Europe to Siberia, Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Lythria purpuraria generally have two red-purple transverse lines in their green-yellow forewings. They are often confused with L. cruentaria, a sister species in the same family. This is because they are both available in a variety of sizes with multiple wing patterns. L. purpuraria and the other four species within the Lythria family have a very difficult genitalia structure, which is complicated to analyze and study.
Adults are on wing from April to June and again from July to September. It is a day-flying species. There are two generations per year. The larvae feed on prostrate knotweed, also known as Polygonum aviculare. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 2 | Bishkek | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | |
| 3 | Astana | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 4 | Bucharest | 🇷🇴 Romania | |
| 5 | Rostov-on-Don | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 8 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 9 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 10 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Barred Yellow sighting in Prague on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 149th most-seen of the 724 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.
May and July–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Barred Yellow in Prague on a given day, against under 5% in June and November–April, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple-Barred Yellow sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
8th of 13
Of the 13 cities where we can rate Purple-Barred Yellow sightings, Prague ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kharkiv (Ukraine, about 20%), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan, about 20%) and Astana (Kazakhstan, about 10%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Purple-Barred Yellow that you can see in Prague (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Common Heath (about 10%), Yellow Shell Moth (about 10%) and Willow Beauty (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple-Barred Yellow is recorded against all the insects logged in Prague (39 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.
