Acronicta retardata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Acronicta retardata, the retarded dagger moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. A. retardata is found from Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Texas, north to Manitoba. The larvae feed on the leaves of red maple and sugar maple. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Maple Dagger sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 5 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.
May and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Maple Dagger in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Maple Dagger sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Maple Dagger sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Acronicta
The closest relatives of the Maple Dagger that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (genus Acronicta, Dagger Moths) are American Dagger (about 10%) and Powdered Dagger (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Maple Dagger is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (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.
