Cyclophora nanaria
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Cyclophora nanaria, the dwarf tawny wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in the US from California to Texas and from New Jersey to Florida west along the Gulf Coast. The range extends south through Dominica and Jamaica to Argentina. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.
The wingspan is about 16 mm. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 4 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dwarf Tawny Wave sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 248th most-seen of the 354 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, June, October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dwarf Tawny Wave in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, May, July–September and November, the lowest months. Those are among Saguaro National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 55 mm in July.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dwarf Tawny Wave sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Dwarf Tawny Wave sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Dwarf Tawny Wave that you can see in Saguaro National Park (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Orbed Wave (about 10%) and Bicolored Chloraspilates Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dwarf Tawny Wave is recorded against all the insects logged in Saguaro 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.
