Izatha heroica
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Izatha heroica is a moth of the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it is widespread in the west part of the South Island. It has been collected in southern beech forests but larvae have been reared on dead kanuka or manuka bushes.
This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1926 using a female specimen taken at Flora River, Mount Arthur in January. The holotype specimen is held at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection. Later that year Charles Edwin Clarke, thinking he was describing a new species, discussed and named the species Izatha toreuma. Clarke used a male specimen obtained from Arthurs Pass in January. This specimen is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This name was synonymised by George Hudson in 1928.
Philpott described the female of the species as follows: ♀. 32 mm. Head and thorax white. Palpi white, basal half of second segment externally black, also an obscure blackish ring near apex, terminal segment with a sprinkling of black scales forming an indefinite ring at tooth. Antennae fuscous mixed with white, basal segment paler. Abdomen ochreous-whitish, apical segment brown. Legs grey-whitish, tarsi... 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 Izatha heroica sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 7 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 to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Izatha heroica in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to November, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Izatha heroica sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 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 Izatha heroica sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Izatha
The closest relatives of the Izatha heroica that you can see in Fiordland National Park (genus Izatha, Lichen Tuft Moths) are Izatha huttoni (about 10%) and Izatha acmonias (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Izatha heroica is recorded against all the insects logged in Fiordland National Park (7 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.
