Spodoptera mauritia
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Spodoptera mauritia, the lawn armyworm or paddy swarming caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1833. Able to eat many types of food, it is a major pest throughout the world.
It is widespread from the Red Sea to India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaya to Australia and widespread in the Pacific Islands, including the Solomons, New Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, the Society Islands, Austral Islands, Marquesas and the Marshall Islands.
The wingspan is about 40 mm. It is dark grey brown with a rusty tinge on its body. The abdomen is fuscous. Forewings with sub-basal, antemedial and postmedial double waved lines indistinct. The orbicular small and ochreous, whereas reniform blackish. Submarginal line whitish and irregularly waved. There is a white patch often can be seen between orbicular and reniform and a dark patch on the central marginal area. Hindwings opalescent and semi-hyaline white, with a dark marginal line.
The larvae feed on various grasses, including rice, wheat, Cynodon, Pennisetum clandestinum, Sorghum bicolor, Oryza sativa, and trees such as Casuarina equisetifolia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lawn Armyworm Moth sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 558th 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 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lawn Armyworm Moth in Sydney on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lawn Armyworm Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
4th of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Lawn Armyworm Moth sightings, Sydney ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 10%), Harare (Zimbabwe, about 10%) and Perth (Australia, under 5%).
Same genus: Spodoptera
The closest relatives of the Lawn Armyworm Moth that you can see in Sydney (genus Spodoptera, Armyworm Moths) are Lily Caterpillar Moth (about 10%) and Oriental Leafworm Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lawn Armyworm Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Sydney (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.
