Ichneutica arotis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Ichneutica arotis is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. This species is found throughout the North and South Islands but has yet to be recorded on Stewart Island. I. arotis is variable in appearance and have been described as having a "northern dark form", a "typical" form and a "swamp" form. Robert Hoare hypothesised that this species may be in the process of evolving into several distinct species. However, as these forms show no difference in antennae or genitalia so, as at 2019, they are not regarded as separate species. Larval hosts include species in the genera Cortaderia and Schoenus as well as Phormium tenax. The caterpillar feeds at night and rests in during the day amongst dead flax leaves. It pupates in a loose cocoon either hidden at the base of a stem of flax or on the ground. The adults of this species is on the wing from September to April. In the North Island there have also been records of adults being on the wing in June to August.
I. arotis can be confused with I. blenheimensis, I. theobroma, or I. epiastra, and the female of I. arotis can possibly be confused with the female of I. cornuta. I. blenheimensis can be distinguished as even when worn and pale it has blackish forewing fringes that I. arotis lack. I. theobroma might possibly be confused with the "northern dark" form of I. arotis but can be distinguished as I. theobroma has broader wings and doesn't have the pale markings on the forewing that the "northern dark" form of I. arotis has. I. epiastra can be distinguished as it has an obvious row of black dots along the outer margin of the wing where as I. arotis is either lacks these marks or has brown dashes. The female I. arotis can be distinguished from the female I. cornuta as the former normally has dark scales on the thorax. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ichneutica arotis sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 74th 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.
November and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ichneutica arotis in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to October, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ichneutica arotis 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 Ichneutica arotis sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Ichneutica
The closest relatives of the Ichneutica arotis that you can see in Fiordland National Park (genus Ichneutica) are New Zealand Cutworm (about 20%), Common Dotted Wainscot (about 10%) and Ichneutica atristriga (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ichneutica arotis is recorded against all the insects logged in Fiordland National Park (13 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.
