Eriocrania semipurpurella
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Eriocrania semipurpurella (Purplish birch-miner) is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae, found from Europe to Japan and in North America. It was first described by James Francis Stephens in 1835. The species closely resembles Eriocrania sangii and the larvae of both species mine the leaves of birch.
The wingspan is 10–16 mm. Edward Meyrick gives this description: Forewings elongate, bronzy-purple, more or less sprinkled with pale shining golden; an indistinct usually small transverse pale golden dorsal spot before tornus, sometimes almost obsolete; cilia bronzy-grey, on dorsal spot ochreous-whitish; 9 absent. Hindwings with hairscales except towards margins posteriorly, bronzy-grey, posteriorly purplish-tinged. Larva whitish; head pale ochreous-brown, mouth darker in blotch in leaves of birch. The moth flies from March to April depending on the location.
The moth flies in sunshine around birch trees (Betula species), sometimes in swarms in March and April. In dull weather, they rest on twigs. Similar species E. semipurpurella looks similar to E. sangii and can only be told apart by microscopy of the genitalia.
Other stages Eggs are laid on the leaf bud and the larvae... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Purplish Birch-Miner Moth sighting in Great Bear Rainforest on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 200th most-seen of the 235 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Purplish Birch-Miner Moth in Great Bear Rainforest on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purplish Birch-Miner Moth sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Great Bear Rainforest, in our data
Great Bear Rainforest is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Purplish Birch-Miner Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Purplish Birch-Miner Moth that you can see in Great Bear Rainforest (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Spotted Tussock Moth (about 20%), Gaultheria Leafminer Moth (about 20%) and Silver-Spotted Tiger Moth (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purplish Birch-Miner Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Bear Rainforest (5 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.
