Declana floccosa
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Declana floccosa, the forest semilooper or manuka moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand. It was first described by Francis Walker in 1863 using specimens obtained from Colonel Bolton. The wingspan of this species is 27–35 mm and is extremely variable in colour and patterning.
The larvae feed on a wide range of native and exotic broad-leaved and coniferous shrubs and trees. Exotic hosts include Pinus radiata and other Pinus species, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Larix and Eucalyptus. Native hosts include Muehlenbeckia australis.
Adults are attracted to light and have been collected via a mercury vapour light trap. A longitudinal study from 1974 to 2016 indicated the population of this moth declined sharply in the study area in the mid-1980s but began to recover in the late 1990s. It has been hypothesised that the arrival of Vespula vulgaris in New Zealand might be the cause of the population decline. It was also hypothesised that the recovery in population may have been brought about as a result of the extended emergence period of this moth which gave those moths emerging later in the season the ability to avoid predation... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Semilooper sighting in Rakiura National Park on a given day, based on 146 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 118 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and June
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Semilooper in Rakiura National Park on a given day, against about 20% in February–March and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Forest Semilooper sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Forest Semilooper sightings, Rakiura National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Egmont National Park (New Zealand, about 20%) and Fiordland National Park (New Zealand, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Forest Semilooper is recorded against all the insects logged in Rakiura National Park (146 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.
