Peridea anceps
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Peridea anceps, the great prominent, is a moth of the family Notodontidae first described by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1781. It is found in central and southern Europe and North Africa. The wingspan is 50–65 mm. The antennae are almost half as long as the forewing, narrowly feathered in the male and wire-shaped in the female. The body is cylindrical, and covered with dark brownish hairs. The thorax may have slightly different drawings but the middle part is slightly darker and warmer brown than the rest. The forewing is oblong and narrow, almost oval, with a wide "tooth" of backward-pointing hairs approximately in the middle of the back edge. It is yellowish grey with four more or less distinct narrow transverse bands, the two innermost ones being dark and the two outermost light. The hindwing is yellowish-white, darker at the front edge and at the base. The larva is naked without any body outgrowths, green with short, bright oblique stripes on the side of each body joint and some, partially broken, lighter longitudinal stripes along the back. The head capsule is green with four light stripes.
The moth flies from April to July depending on the location. The larvae feed on oak. If the larva is disturbed, it bends the front and hind end upwards until the front body is over the space, and cracks with the legs while shaking the front body. This surprising behavior may be enough to scare predators. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Prominent sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 388th 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.
March and April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Prominent in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to February, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Prominent sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Great Prominent sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 20%), Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%) and Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 10%).
Same family: Notodontidae
The closest relatives of the Great Prominent that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (family Notodontidae, Prominent Moths) are Pine Processionary-Moth (about 20%), Tawny Prominent (about 10%) and Pale Prominent (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Prominent is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (8 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.
