Pyralis pictalis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pyralis pictalis, the painted meal moth or poplar pyralis, is a snout moth (family Pyralidae). It is closely related to the family's type species the meal moth (P. farinalis) and consequently belongs to the tribe Pyralini of the snout moth subfamily Pyralinae. Its native range is tropical Asia to East Asia and to Wallacea and adjacent regions, but it has been quite widely (though involuntarily) distributed by humans. The term "Poplar" in its common name does not refer to the trees, but to Poplar, London, where the type specimen – from such an introduction – was caught. It was called scarce meal moth in the original description, which is only correct for the fringes of its range however.
While the caterpillars of this moth are most notable as a stored-food pest, they may themselves be useful for biological pest control as under certain conditions they will eat other insects' eggs. It is not known precisely where this moth originated, but it seems to have been the general region of Southeast Asia. Presumably, the painted meal moth natively ranged from southern India and Sri Lanka northeastwards to Japan and southeastwards at least to Sumatra, Java and at least parts... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Meal Moth sighting in Shanghai on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 185th most-seen of the 215 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.
September and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Meal Moth in Shanghai on a given day, against under 5% in November to August, the lowest months.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Painted Meal Moth sightings, Shanghai ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Kathmandu (Nepal, about 10%) and Kolkata (India, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Painted Meal Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Shanghai (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.
