Pterophorus monospilalis
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Pterophorus monospilalis, the white plume moth, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and occurs throughout the country. It inhabits native forest, parks and domestic gardens. Larvae are active during the day, are slow moving, and feed exposed. They feed on Araliaceae species as well as on Hedera helix, Meryta sinclairii, and Schefflera digitata. There are several broods in a year. Adult moths are on the wing from November until May and are attracted to light.
This species was first described by Francis Walker in 1864 and named Aciptilus monospilalis. In 1875 Cajetan von Felder and Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer, thinking they were describing a new species, named it Aciptilia patruelis. In 1885 Meyrick synonymised A. patruelis with A. monospilalis. In the same publication Meyrick, thinking he was describing a new species, also named this species as Aciptilia lycosema. Merick described both A. monospilalis and the newly named A. lycosema in greater detail in a later 1885 publication. In 1913 Meyrick placed both A. monospilalis and A. lycosema into the genus Alucita. This placement was followed by George Hudson in his 1928 book The butterflies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Araliad Plume sighting in Egmont National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 191 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Araliad Plume in Egmont National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and May–October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Araliad Plume sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Egmont National Park, in our data
Egmont National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Araliad Plume sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Araliad Plume is recorded against all the insects logged in Egmont National Park (22 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.
