Ichneutica skelloni
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Ichneutica skelloni is a moth of the family Noctuidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. Its presence has been confirmed in the North Island only in the Wellington region but is widespread throughout the South Island. It is also found in Stewart Island. I. skelloni is extremely variable in size, in the colour and patterns on the fore and hind wings, length of pectinations on male antennae and even in its genitalia. A larger more patterned form can be found in Westland and Fiordland, a medium-sized form is found from Wellington to Stewart Island and there is also a smaller Dunedin and Southland form. This species can be confused with specimens with the species I. insignis, I. scutata and I. pelanodes. I. skelloni can be found in forest and shrubland habitat. Adults are on the wing from July to April and are attracted to light. Host plants for the larvae are found in the genera Plantago, Senecio and Ranunculus and also include the species Bellis perennis.
This species was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1880 and named Hadena skelloni. The holotype male specimen was collected in Marlborough by a Mr Skellon. Butler synonymised this name with Melanchra insignis... 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 skelloni 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.
November
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ichneutica skelloni in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ichneutica skelloni sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Fiordland National Park, in our data
Fiordland National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Ichneutica skelloni sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Ichneutica
The closest relatives of the Ichneutica skelloni 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 skelloni 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.
