Bombyx mandarina
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Bombyx mandarina, the wild silk moth, is a species of moth in the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of Bombyx mori, the domesticated silk moth. The larvae (caterpillars) of both species are called silkworms, famous for producing the fibroinous cocoon that is harvested by humans for silk.
Unlike its domesticated relative, who has lost the ability to fly and is too synanthropic to even survive outside human cultivation, B. mandarina is a fairly ordinary moth. The main difference between the wild B. mandarina and the domesticated B. mori is that the former has a more slender body with well-developed wings in males, and is dull greyish-brown in colour.
Bombyx mandarina and the domesticated Bombyx mori constitute two of the currently identified eight species of the genus Bombyx, the true or mulberry silk moths. The origin of the domestic silk moth is enigmatic. It has been suggested that it is the survivor of an extinct species that diverged from the ancestors of Bombyx mandarina millions of years ago. However, this is based on an untenable molecular clock hypothesis that assumes that wild and domestic silk moths evolved equally fast after their... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wild Silkmoth sighting in Tokyo on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 279th most-seen of the 1013 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.
April–May and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wild Silkmoth in Tokyo on a given day, against under 5% in June–October and December–March, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wild Silkmoth sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Wild Silkmoth sightings, Tokyo has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Taipei (Taiwan, under 5%) and Seoul (South Korea, under 5%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Wild Silkmoth that you can see in Tokyo (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Pale Grass Blue (about 30%), Chinese Yellow Swallowtail (about 20%) and Red Ring Skirt (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wild Silkmoth is recorded against all the insects logged in Tokyo (44 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.
