Alypia ridingsii
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Alypia ridingsii, the mountain forester or Ridings' forester, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1864. It is found in North America as far east as the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It is also found in Arizona, Utah, all of California and northward into Oregon, Idaho, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. The species is named after James Ridings.
The wingspan is about 30 mm. Adults are on wing from March to May in California and as late as June in the more northern and eastern parts of its range. The larvae feed on Camissonia bistorta, Camissonia californica, Camissonia dentata and Clarkia rhomboidea. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ridings' Forester sighting in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 190 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Ridings' Forester in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and June–November, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ridings' Forester sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Joshua Tree National Park, in our data
Joshua Tree National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Ridings' Forester sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Ridings' Forester that you can see in Joshua Tree National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Arizona Bird-Dropping Moth (about 10%), Red-Lined Moth (about 10%) and Chicory Flower Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ridings' Forester is recorded against all the insects logged in Joshua Tree National Park (29 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.
