Basilodes pepita
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Basilodes pepita, the gold moth, is a species of owlet moth in the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found in North America. Caterpillars feed on plants from the genus Verbesina. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gold Moth sighting in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 571st most-seen of the 723 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gold Moth in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–July, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gold Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Shenandoah National Park, in our data
Shenandoah National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Gold Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Gold Moth that you can see in Shenandoah National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Beautiful Wood-Nymph (about 20%), American Dagger (about 10%) and Eight-Spotted Forester Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gold Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Shenandoah 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.
