Ematurga atomaria
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Ematurga atomaria, the common heath, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in the Palearctic realm from the Iberian Peninsula in the west, central and eastern Europe and east to Siberia and Sakhalin. In the south, its range includes the northern Mediterranean and the Turkish part of the Black Sea region.
The wingspan is 24–34 millimetres (0.9–1.3 in). The colour is variable ranging from yellow brown to dark brown. The appearance is mottled with bands and spots. The brown cross bands on both forewings and hindwings vary in width and there may be no cross bands at all only small dark brownish spots. Males have comb-like antennae. Females are usually brown with a dusting of white but can be almost white with a series of brown crosslines.
The egg is elongated and green to yellow-red. The caterpillar is slim, smooth and up to 30 millimeters long. The colour is very variable as with the moth; it ranges from brown to yellowish, grey to violet-grey. The dorsal line is dark, and the side stripes are light and wavy. The pupa is yellow-brown and spotted. The cremaster is long and forked at the end.
Richard South had this to say "Four specimens of this... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 2 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 4 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 6 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 12 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 13 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 15 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 17 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turin | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 2 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 4 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 5 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 9 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 10 | Istanbul | 🇹🇷 Turkey |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Heath sighting in Ecrins National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 168th most-seen of the 251 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Heath in Ecrins National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Heath sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
15th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Common Heath sightings, Ecrins National Park ranks 15th at about 10%. The best odds are in Hohe Tauern National Park (Austria, about 30%), Vanoise National Park (France, about 20%) and Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 20%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Common Heath that you can see in Ecrins National Park (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Chimney-Sweeper (about 20%), Latticed Heath (about 10%) and Shaded Broad-Bar (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Heath is recorded against all the insects logged in Ecrins National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
