Lophocampa argentata
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Lophocampa argentata, the silver-spotted tiger moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Packard in 1864. It is found from British Columbia to southern California, and east to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and possibly to northern Mexico.
Caterpillars are brown or reddish-brown and very hairy, with bundles of black and yellow hairs along the back. The hairs on caterpillars and pupae can irritate human skin. Adult moths have brown forewings with silvery spots. There are light brown and dark brown variations. The spots are irregular, each outlined in black and aligned in loose rows. The hair-like scales on the head and thorax (dorsal tuft) have a unique pattern that can be useful in identification.
Original species description by Alpheus Packard in 1864: "Halesidota argentata n. sp. - [Female]. Head and thorax pale buff yellow. Base and side of the front walnut brown. Centre of prothoracic pieces brown. Patagia margined with brown, within very broadly so.
Primaries walnut brown, with five rows of large irregular round or ovate silver white spots, except the costal spots, which are buff yellow. Two basal spots yellow... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Spotted Tiger Moth sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 117 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 64th most-seen of the 482 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Spotted Tiger Moth in Vancouver on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months. Those are among Vancouver's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in November.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Silver-Spotted Tiger Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Silver-Spotted Tiger Moth sightings, Vancouver ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Seattle (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Silver-Spotted Tiger Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Vancouver (117 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.
