Aspilanta hydrangaeella
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Aspilanta hydrangaeella is a species of moth in the family Heliozelidae. It is found in the United States. The larvae are leaf miners that feed on hydrangea plants. Aspilanta hydrangaeella is found in the eastern United States, including Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Adult A. hydrangaeella have a wingspan of 5.0–5.8 mm (0.20–0.23 in), with each forewing measuring 2.2–2.8 mm (0.087–0.110 in) in length. Externally, adult A. hydrangaeella are similar to other moths in the genus Aspilanta, but can be differentiated by their antennae – the antennae of A. hydrangaeella have noticeable white tips.
The larvae are colorless or whitish, except for their green gut contents, with a dark brown head and prothorax. Darker spots may be visible on some body segments. Their primary host plant is smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), though larvae can also be found less frequently on snowy hydrangea (Hydrangea radiata).
The leaf mine begins with a long, sometimes contorted linear portion that eventually widens into an elongate blotch or wide gallery. The frass ranges from green to black in color and is distributed in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Aspilanta hydrangaeella sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 628th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Aspilanta hydrangaeella in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to August, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Aspilanta hydrangaeella sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in our data
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Aspilanta hydrangaeella sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Aspilanta hydrangaeella that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Pipevine Swallowtail (about 70%), Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (about 50%) and Silver-Spotted Skipper (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Aspilanta hydrangaeella is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains 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.
