Helastia plumbea
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Helastia plumbea is a moth of the family Geometridae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found in both the North and South Islands. The species inhabits stream and river banks in montane to subalpine terrain. Adults are on the wing from October to April and are nocturnal and attracted to light. The life history of this species is, at 2024, poorly known but the larval host plants are likely mosses, herbs or possibly lichens.
This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1915 using four specimens collected in Queenstown in November and was originally named Xanthorhoe plumbea. George Hudson discussed this species under that name in his book The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. Philpott illustrated the male genitalia of this species in 1928. L. B. Prout, in 1939, discussed this species as a synonym of Xanthorhoe infantaria. In 1971 J. S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Helastia. In 1987 R. C. Craw discussed this species while revising the genus Helastia. The male holotype is held at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.
This species was originally described by Philpott as follows: ♂ 18–20 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax grey... 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 Helastia plumbea sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 201 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Helastia plumbea in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to November, the lowest months.
Between 11 pm and 2 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Helastia plumbea sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen 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 Helastia plumbea sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Helastia
The closest relatives of the Helastia plumbea that you can see in Fiordland National Park (genus Helastia) are Helastia cinerearia (about 10%), Helastia corcularia (about 10%) and Helastia cryptica (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Helastia plumbea is recorded against all the insects logged in Fiordland National Park (15 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.
