Scopula rubiginata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Scopula rubiginata, the tawny wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. Subspecies Scopula rubiginata ochraceata Staudinger, 1901 is mostly treated as a species, Scopula ochraceata.
The Latin species name rubiginata means "rusty", with reference to the coloration of the wings. This species is present from the Iberian Peninsula up to the Ural. In the North its range extends to Denmark and Southern Sweden and Finland. It is not present in most of the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula (with the exception of Gibraltar), Sicily and the southern Greek islands. In Morocco it is found in the Atlas mountains. Furthermore, it is also present in North Turkey, the Caucasus and the Crimea. Eastwards, its range stretches through southern Siberia, the northern central Asian mountains up to Mongolia. These moths preferably inhabit sandy terrain, such as sand dunes dry-warm environment, grasslands and heath, at an elevation up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.
Scopula rubiginata has a wingspan of 16–22 mm. These moths are rather small... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Wave sighting in Prague on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 377th most-seen of the 724 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.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Wave in Prague on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. Those are among Prague's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against 30 mm in February.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny Wave sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Tawny Wave sightings, Prague ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Budapest (Hungary, about 10%) and Berlin (Germany, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny Wave is recorded against all the insects logged in Prague (12 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.
