Eugnorisma depuncta
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Eugnorisma depuncta, the plain clay, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is found in most of Europe, west to England, north to Scotland and Fennoscandia, south to southern France, Italy, Sicily and Greece, east up to the Caucasus. It is not present in northern France, the Benelux or parts of western Germany.
The wingspan is 34–44 mm. Meyrick describes it thus: Antennae in male ciliated. Forewings light ochreous-brown; subbasal line anteriorly black-edged; first line black-edged posteriorly except towards dorsum; second partly dark-edged, on costa anteriorly blackish-edged; orbicular and reniform finely pale-edged, space between them and before orbicular browner; subterminal line anteriorly darker-edged. Hindwings fuscous, darker posteriorly. Larva dull brown; a dorsal series of diamonds darker-outlined; spiracular sufFusedly darker, spiracles white, dark-edged; subspiracular ochreous-whitish; head light brown, darker-marked.
Adults are on wing from July to September depending on the location. The larvae feed on Pulmonaria mollis, Lamium, Vaccinium myrtillus and Urtica dioica. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Clay sighting in Vienna on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 760th most-seen of the 1406 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.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Clay in Vienna on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plain Clay sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Vienna, in our data
Vienna is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Plain Clay sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Plain Clay that you can see in Vienna (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Silver Υ (about 20%), Large Yellow Underwing (about 10%) and Cotton Bollworm Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plain Clay is recorded against all the insects logged in Vienna (15 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.
