Tyta luctuosa
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Tyta is a genus of noctuid ('owlet') moths that was erected by Gustaf Johan Billberg in 1820. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Tyta luctuosa, commonly known as four-spotted moth and field bindweed moth. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.
This moth is native to much of the Palearctic – most of Europe east to the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and from Siberia to China and south to North Africa. The adult moth is about eleven millimeters long and dark brown with one large white spot on each of its four wings.
Its forewings are purplish fuscous, becoming paler, and more brownish, towards the termen, and sometimes at the extreme base; the lines black, fine; the inner oblique, thrice waved; the outer excurved above middle, incurved below; subterminal line pale, preceded by a darker shade; fringe white with a dark patch below middle; an abbreviated white band from costa to vein 3 beyond cell, sometimes tinged with tannish peach; hindwing with a white median band of varying width; in ab. angustifascia ab. nov. this band is greatly restricted and sometimes interrupted; the examples in which... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Bucharest | 🇷🇴 Romania | |
| 5 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 6 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 7 | Rostov-on-Don | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Belgrade | 🇷🇸 Serbia | |
| 9 | Istanbul | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 10 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Four-Spotted Moth sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 325th most-seen of the 597 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.
May to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Four-Spotted Moth in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Four-Spotted Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Four-Spotted Moth sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 10%), Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 10%) and Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Four-Spotted Moth that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Cinnabar Moth (about 20%), Jersey Tiger (about 10%) and Oak Yellow Underwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Four-Spotted Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (10 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.
