Florida Tussock Moth

Florida Tussock Moth

Halysidota cinctipes

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Everglades National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

127 Verified sightings at Everglades National Park From 2019 to 2026
127 In 1 park
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Florida Tussock Moth

Halysidota cinctipes, the gartered halysidota or Florida tussock moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1865. It is found on Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas and in the US states of Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. The range possibly extends through Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama to Venezuela, Brazil and Peru.

The wingspan is about 42 mm. The larvae feed on Coccoloba floridana, Coccoloba uvifera, Hibiscus species and possibly Trema micrantha. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Florida Tussock Moth in Everglades National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Tussock Moth sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 127 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 36th most-seen of the 496 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Florida Tussock Moth in Everglades National Park?

January

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Tussock Moth in Everglades National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to November, the lowest months. That is one of Everglades National Park's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain against 240 mm in June.

What time of day is best to see a Florida Tussock Moth?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Florida Tussock Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Florida Tussock Moth?

Only Everglades National Park, in our data

Everglades National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Florida Tussock Moth sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Florida Tussock Moth live in Everglades National Park?

Same family: Erebidae

The closest relatives of the Florida Tussock Moth that you can see in Everglades National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Faithful Beauty (about 20%), Polka-Dot Wasp Moth (about 10%) and Black Witch (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Florida Tussock Moth sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Florida Tussock Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Everglades National Park (127 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.

← Back to Everglades National Park