Spodoptera picta
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
Spodoptera picta, the lily caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was described by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1838. It is found from India, South-east Asia and Japan through Indonesia, Australia and the western part of South Pacific ocean to Fiji. Its caterpillars feeds on the leaves of plants in the Amaryllidaceae and Liliaceae families, and can be a significant pest in gardens.
The wingspan is about 40 mm. It is generally an ochreous-white moth, the head and thorax suffused with pinkish red. The forewings have some red on their costal base; there are numerous ill-defined waved black lines present between the base and antemedial line: the orbicular and claviform consisting of black rings; a medial pinkish red band, wide at costa narrowing to inner margin; the reniform with ochreous and black outlines and red centre; the postmedial double waved lines are filled in with ochreous and highly excurved beyond the cell; some black dashes can be seen on reddish patches beyond it. The hindwings are semi-hyaline white.
Caterpillars have smooth skin and are pale grey with a series of longitudinal black lines. Mesothorax also has dark patches with last abdominal... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lily Caterpillar Moth sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 375 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 25th most-seen of the 742 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and May
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Lily Caterpillar Moth in Sydney on a given day, against under 5% in August to December, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lily Caterpillar Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Lily Caterpillar Moth sightings, Sydney has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Brisbane (Australia, about 10%) and Taipei (Taiwan, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lily Caterpillar Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Sydney (375 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.
