Adela ridingsella
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Adela ridingsella, Ridings' fairy moth, is a moth of the Adelidae family or fairy longhorn moths. It was described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1864. It is widespread in eastern North America, from Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Maine to Pennsylvania and the mountains of North Carolina. Adults are on wing from June to July.
Larvae found in petiole galls on Parthenocissus quinquefolia might belong to this species. The larvae later formed external cases. 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 a Ridings' Fairy Moth sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 513th 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 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ridings' Fairy Moth in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ridings' Fairy Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 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 Ridings' Fairy Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ridings' Fairy Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains 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.
