Drasteria fumosa
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Drasteria fumosa, the smoky arches, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae first described by Herman Strecker in 1898. It is found from the US state of California east to Utah and Texas. The wingspan is 34–43 mm. Adults are on wing in summer. 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 Smoky Arches sighting in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 96th most-seen of the 190 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Smoky Arches in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June, August and October–February, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Smoky Arches sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
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 Smoky Arches sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Smoky Arches that you can see in Joshua Tree National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Bird Toxonprucha (about 10%), Euchaetes zella (about 10%) and Anvil-Wing Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Smoky Arches is recorded against all the insects logged in Joshua Tree National Park (17 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.
