Composia fidelissima
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
Composia fidelissima the faithful beauty or Uncle Sam moth is a moth in the family Erebidae. It is found in southern Florida and the West Indies, including Cuba. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1866.
The moth's forewings are black with rows of white dots and red around the costal margin. Their hindwings fade from blue into black, with white dots around the edge. Their thorax continues the trend of white-speckled black, while their abdomen takes on the same blue color of their hindwings.
They have a wingspan of 48–64 mm. Adults are on wing year round. They are day flying. The larvae feed on Cynanchum scoparium, Canavalia (including Canavalia rosea), Nerium (including Nerium oleander) and Echites species (including Echites umbellatus).
Composia fidelissima fidelissima Composia fidelissima vagrans Bates, 1933 Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Celestún Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Faithful Beauty sighting in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 56 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 112 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Faithful Beauty in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in April and May, the lowest months. Those are among Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in June.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Faithful Beauty sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Faithful Beauty sightings, Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Everglades National Park (United States, about 20%) and Celestún Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Faithful Beauty that you can see in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Ornate Bella Moth (about 20%), Horama oedippus (about 20%) and Lepidokirbyia boreas (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Faithful Beauty is recorded against all the insects logged in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (56 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.
