Dendrolimus pini
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Dendrolimus pini, the pine tree lappet moth or pine moth, is a pest species, a defoliator of coniferous forests. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera and is one of many lappet moths in the Lasiocampidae family. First described by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758), it has a wide geographic range and has since been documented in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. D. pini has a preference for the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), its main host.
The scientific name Dendrolimus pini has both Greek and Latin roots. The prefix "dendro" is from Greek dendron, "tree". The suffix "limus" is Latin for "mud", which may be a reference to the moth's coloration. The epithet "pini" is the genitive of the Latin for "pine".
When first laid, the eggs are initially blue-green in colour, but over time they lose their colour, fading into a gray. The eggs are approximately 2 mm in size and take about 14 days to hatch. Larvae reach an approximate length of 2-3 inches. The caterpillar's thorax is covered in black hairs and made up of thick alternating steel-blue bands; the abdominal segments have a black mark bordered by irregular... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 3 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pine-Tree Lappet sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 272nd most-seen of the 412 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.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pine-Tree Lappet in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–June, the lowest months.
Between 11 pm and 2 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pine-Tree Lappet sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Pine-Tree Lappet sightings, Mercantour National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 10%) and Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%).
Same family: Lasiocampidae
The closest relatives of the Pine-Tree Lappet that you can see in Mercantour National Park (family Lasiocampidae, Lappet Moths) are Fox Moth (about 30%) and Oak Eggar (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pine-Tree Lappet is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour 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.
