Diaphone eumela
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Diaphone eumela, the cherry spot or lily borer, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa,Kenya and Angola. Like its relative, Brithys crini, this noctuid is found almost exclusively on plants of the families Amaryllidaceae and Liliaceae, and has been recorded feeding on Ornithogalum eckloni and Boophone disticha. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Spot sighting in Pretoria on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 175th most-seen of the 274 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, September–October and December–February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Spot in Pretoria on a given day, against under 5% in March–April, June–August and November, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cherry Spot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Cherry Spot sightings, Pretoria ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Cape Town (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Cherry Spot that you can see in Pretoria (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Lily Borer (about 10%), Slender Burnished Brass (about 10%) and Cotton Bollworm Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cherry Spot is recorded against all the insects logged in Pretoria (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.
