Tinea occidentella
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Tinea occidentella is a species of moth of the family Tineidae. It has a relatively large forewing from ca. 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in). The moth is dark grey with lighter central region of the forewing within which a darker spot or fleck is prominent. The common name “western clothes moth” is a misnomer as it does not eat clothes but only scat and pellets. It is common near the Pacific coast from the San Francisco Bay region through coastal northern Baja California. It is virtually restricted to coastal areas of high humidity derived from advective fog off the sea. The larvae feed upon keratin of fur and feathers in mammalian carnivore scat and in pellets of birds of prey. They are also reported to develop upon bird carcasses. The larval foods are very low in water, and keratin itself contains no water. The larvae obtain their water via that absorbed from the atmosphere of their high humidity environment by the fur and feathers of their diet. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Clothes Moth sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 379th most-seen of the 693 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 Western Clothes Moth in San Diego on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Only San Diego, in our data
San Diego is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Western Clothes Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Clothes Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in San Diego (14 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.
