Melanchroia chephise
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Melanchroia chephise, the white-tipped black or snowbush spanworm, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from Florida and Texas, south to Paraguay. Strays have been recorded from Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois.
The wingspan is about 33 mm. Adults are on wing from September to December. Larvae feed on Phyllanthaceae species, including Breynia and Phyllanthus. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machalilla National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 4 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 6 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 7 | Vitória | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-Tipped Black sighting in Masaya Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 38 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, June, September–October and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-Tipped Black in Masaya Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, April–May, July–August and November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-Tipped Black sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate White-Tipped Black sightings, Masaya Volcano National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Machalilla National Park (Ecuador, about 20%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the White-Tipped Black that you can see in Masaya Volcano National Park (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Theona Checkerspot (about 30%), Dirce Beauty (about 20%) and Blomfild's Beauty (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-Tipped Black is recorded against all the insects logged in Masaya Volcano 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.
