Ichneutica lithias
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Ichneutica lithias is a moth of the family Noctuidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is a small moth but distinctive as a result of the markings on its forewings. Although this species is widespread in the South Island, it has only been collected in the Rangipo Desert in the North Island. The species prefers habitat that is scrubland ranging in altitude from coastal to alpine. Adults are on the wing from October to April and larvae have been collected and reared on the New Zealand endemic plant species Melicytus alpinus.
This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1887 from two specimens collected at Castle Hill near Christchurch by J. D. Enys. Meyrick originally named the species Mamestra lithias. The lectotype of the species is male and is held at the Canterbury Museum in the Fereday Collection. In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species within the Graphania genus. In 2019 Robert Hoare undertook a major review of New Zealand Noctuidae. During this review the genus Ichneutica was greatly expanded and the genus Graphania was subsumed into that genus as a synonym. As a result of this review, this species is now known as Ichneutica lithias. 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 an Ichneutica lithias sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th 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 an Ichneutica lithias in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and April–November, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ichneutica lithias sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all 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 lithias sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Ichneutica
The closest relatives of the Ichneutica lithias 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 lithias is recorded against all the insects logged in Fiordland National Park (19 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.
