Heliotrope Moth

Heliotrope Moth

Utetheisa pulchelloides

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kosciuszko National Park

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

6 Verified sightings at Kosciuszko National Park From 2019 to 2026
119 In all 7 parks
October Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Heliotrope Moth

Utetheisa pulchelloides, the heliotrope moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in the Indo-Australian region including Borneo, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Papua, Seychelles, most of Australia, Tenerife, La Línea de la Concepción [Cádiz] and Greece. The species was first described by George Hampson in 1907.

Adults undertake extensive and frequent migratory flights and can reach the most remote oceanic islands, such as Henderson Island and Ducie Island. Hindwing of male with no fold or glandular tuft on inner margin. Head and thorax yellowish. Collar and tegula each with two black spots. Each thoracic segment with one each black spot. Third joint of palpi black and abdomen whitish. Forewing white with five interrupted scarlet bands with series of black spots between them. A marginal series of black spots present. Hindwings are semi-diaphanous white, but some specimen with black on the discocellulars. A very irregular black sub-marginal band, broad at apical area and between veins 1b and 3. Larva dark grey with a dorsal white band and sub-dorsal series of red spots. Head yellow. It pupates in a loose cocoon that spun in the leaf litter on the ground below the... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Flinders Ranges National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
2 Hattah-Kulkyne National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
3 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
4 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
5 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
6 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
7 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
2 Chennai 🇮🇳 India
~10%
3 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
4 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
5 Perth 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
6 Auckland 🇳🇿 New Zealand
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Heliotrope Moth in Kosciuszko National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Heliotrope Moth sighting in Kosciuszko National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 75th most-seen of the 105 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Heliotrope Moth in Kosciuszko National Park?

October

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Heliotrope Moth in Kosciuszko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and November–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Heliotrope Moth?

Between 8 and 11 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Heliotrope Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.

Which relatives of the Heliotrope Moth live in Kosciuszko National Park?

Same family: Erebidae

The closest relatives of the Heliotrope Moth that you can see in Kosciuszko National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Southern Moon Moth (about 20%), Crimson Tiger Moth (about 10%) and Black-And-White Tiger Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Heliotrope Moth sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Heliotrope Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Kosciuszko National Park (6 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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