Thin-Winged Owlet

Thin-Winged Owlet

Nigetia formosalis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

7 Verified sightings at Great Smoky Mountains National Park From 2019 to 2026
7 In 1 park
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Thin-Winged Owlet

Nigetia is a monotypic genus of moths in the family Erebidae. Its only species, Nigetia formosalis, the thin-winged algibelle or thin-winged owlet moth, has a scattered distribution in eastern North America from Ontario to Connecticut, south to Florida and Texas. Both the genus and the species were first described by Francis Walker in 1866.

The wingspan is about 19 mm. There is one generation in the northern parts and two or more in the southern parts of its range. Larvae have been reared on Protococcus species but probably also feed on lichens. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Thin-Winged Owlet in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Thin-Winged Owlet 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.

When is the best time to see a Thin-Winged Owlet in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

May and August

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Thin-Winged Owlet in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and September–April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Thin-Winged Owlet?

Between 4 and 7 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Thin-Winged Owlet sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Thin-Winged Owlet?

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 Thin-Winged Owlet sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Thin-Winged Owlet live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Same family: Noctuidae

The closest relatives of the Thin-Winged Owlet that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Beautiful Wood-Nymph (about 20%), Hebrew Moth (about 10%) and American Dagger (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Thin-Winged Owlet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Thin-Winged Owlet 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.

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