Spodoptera praefica
In 3 days ~10%
Spodoptera praefica, the western yellow-striped armyworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae found from British Columbia to California, east to Utah, and north to Alberta. As of 4 October 2021 it is absent from the EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization) area, but is considered a high risk for invasion there.
The wingspan is 35–40 millimetres (1+3⁄8–1+9⁄16 in). It is similar in appearance to Spodoptera ornithogalli, but S. praefica's fore-wings are paler and lack the blurry white stripe. The hind-wings of S. praefica are white or gray and have a small brown dot on the ventral side. Adults are on wing from March to April and from August to September.
The larvae are black with yellow stripes and an inverted "y" marking on the head. They feed on the leaves of various herbaceous plants including agricultural crops such as alfalfa, potato, rice, sugar beet, and sweet potato. 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 Yellow-Striped Armyworm Moth sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 632nd most-seen of the 693 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, 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 Yellow-Striped Armyworm 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 Yellow-Striped Armyworm 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 Yellow-Striped Armyworm Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in San Diego (5 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.
