Sphingomorpha chlorea
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Sphingomorpha chlorea, the sundowner moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae that is native to Africa and southern Asia. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. It is a fruit-piercing moth and a notorious pest in orchards. The fruit is pierced while performing a vertical and rhythmic movement of the head. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 3 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 4 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 5 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 6 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 10 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 16 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 17 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sundowner Moth sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 14 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sundowner Moth in Serengeti National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–May, August and November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sundowner Moth 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.
11th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Sundowner Moth sightings, Serengeti National Park ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 30%), Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique, about 30%) and Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 20%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Sundowner Moth that you can see in Serengeti National Park (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Danaid Eggfly (about 10%), Dark Blue Pansy (about 10%) and Yellow Pansy (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sundowner Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Serengeti National Park (16 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.
