Utetheisa pulchelloides
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Utetheisa pulchelloides, the heliotrope moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in the Indo-Australian region including Borneo, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Papua, Seychelles, most of Australia, Tenerife, La Línea de la Concepción [Cádiz] and Greece. The species was first described by George Hampson in 1907.
Adults undertake extensive and frequent migratory flights and can reach the most remote oceanic islands, such as Henderson Island and Ducie Island. Hindwing of male with no fold or glandular tuft on inner margin. Head and thorax yellowish. Collar and tegula each with two black spots. Each thoracic segment with one each black spot. Third joint of palpi black and abdomen whitish. Forewing white with five interrupted scarlet bands with series of black spots between them. A marginal series of black spots present. Hindwings are semi-diaphanous white, but some specimen with black on the discocellulars. A very irregular black sub-marginal band, broad at apical area and between veins 1b and 3. Larva dark grey with a dorsal white band and sub-dorsal series of red spots. Head yellow. It pupates in a loose cocoon that spun in the leaf litter on the ground below the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Heliotrope Moth sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 192nd most-seen of the 742 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Heliotrope Moth in Sydney on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and November–February, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Heliotrope Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Heliotrope Moth sightings, Sydney ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Melbourne (Australia, about 10%), Chennai (India, about 10%) and Brisbane (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Heliotrope Moth that you can see in Sydney (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are White Cedar Moth (about 10%), White Antennae Wasp Moth (about 10%) and Lichen-Eating Caterpillar (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Heliotrope Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Sydney (47 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.
