Meterana asterope
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Meterana asterope is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the North and South Islands. It inhabits both native forest and open habitat and adults emerge during the New Zealand summer. Adults are on the wing in December and January. This species is attracted to light and has also been collected via sugar traps.
This species was first described by George Hudson in 1898 using a female specimen collected in January at the tableland of Mount Arthur at 3600 ft and named Melanchra asterope. In 1928 Hudson discussed and illustrated this species under that name. In 1971 J. S. Dugdale discussed this species suggesting that it might belong within the Erana group. In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Meterana. The female holotype is held at Te Papa.
Hudson described this species as follows: The expansion of the wines is 1+5⁄8 inches. The fore-wings are dull brown with a pale area on the dorsum near the base, and a very broad pale band just before the termen; there is a bmken black-edged transverse line near the base, and a fainter transverse line at about one-third; the orbicular is... 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 Meterana asterope sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 108th 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
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Meterana asterope in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to October, the lowest months.
Between 11 pm and 2 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Meterana asterope 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 Meterana asterope sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Meterana
The closest relatives of the Meterana asterope that you can see in Fiordland National Park (genus Meterana) are Meterana dotata (about 10%), Meterana levis (about 10%) and Yellow-Bordered Owlet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Meterana asterope is recorded against all the insects logged in Fiordland National Park (10 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.
