Glaucocharis selenaea
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Glaucocharis selenaea is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1885. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found throughout the country from Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands to Southland including the Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands. It inhabits native forest from lowland to subalpine altitudes. Larvae of Glaucocharis species feed on mosses and liverworts. Adults are on the wing from October until January and are attracted to light. It can be distinguished from the similar appearing G. metallifera as G. selenaea is smaller in size, the diagonal shaped band, the small round white discal spot and the black-marked veins in the near the end of the forewings.
This species was first described by Edward Meyrick using specimens collected at Otira Gorge and Dunedin and named Diptychophora selenaea. Meyrick gave a fuller description of this moth later in 1885. George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species under that name in his 1928 book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand. In 1929 Alfred Philpott studied and illustrated the male genitalia of this species, however he mislabelled the illustrations in his publication. The... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Glaucocharis selenaea sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 147th most-seen of the 201 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.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Glaucocharis selenaea in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to October, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Glaucocharis selenaea sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Fiordland National Park, in our data
Fiordland National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Glaucocharis selenaea sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Glaucocharis
The closest relatives of the Glaucocharis selenaea that you can see in Fiordland National Park (genus Glaucocharis) are Glaucocharis interruptus (about 10%), Glaucocharis leucoxantha (about 10%) and Glaucocharis lepidella (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Glaucocharis selenaea is recorded against all the insects logged in Fiordland National Park (6 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.
