Grammia virgo
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Apantesis virgo, the virgin tiger moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in North America from Newfoundland south to Florida west to Alberta.
The wingspan is about 56 mm. The larvae feed on various low-growing plants, including Thermopsis rhombifolia and Plantago species. The species overwinters in the larval stage. This species was formerly a member of the genus Grammia, but was moved to Apantesis along with the other species of the genera Grammia, Holarctia, and Notarctia.
Apantesis virgo virgo (from the Great Lakes region and Atlantic seaboard south through New England, to at least West Virginia. In the west, the range extends to north-eastern British Columbia) Apantesis virgo gigas B. C. Schmidt, 2009 (south-eastern United States, including the Great Smoky Mountains, south to Georgia and northern Florida) Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Virgin Tiger 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 630th 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.
June and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Virgin Tiger Moth in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and October–May, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Virgin Tiger Moth 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.
Only Shenandoah National Park, in our data
Shenandoah National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Virgin Tiger Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Virgin Tiger Moth that you can see in Shenandoah National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Spongy Moth (about 40%), Isabella Tiger Moth (about 30%) and Hickory Tussock Moth (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Virgin Tiger 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.
