Triodia sylvina
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The orange swift or orange moth (Triodia sylvina) is a moth belonging to the family Hepialidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761 and was previously placed in the genus Hepialus. It is distributed throughout Europe.
This species has a wingspan of 32–48 mm. The male has rich orange forewings with two white bars forming a "V" shape. The hindwings are dark brown. The female is similar but generally larger and less brightly coloured. It flies at night from June to September[1] and is attracted to light. They do not have a proboscis so will not be found at flowers feeding. The globular, shiny black eggs are broadcast by the female as she hovers over the food plant.
Larva When they hatch the larvae find their foodplant, bore into the root and are 25 to 30 mm long when fully fed. They have an orange-brown head and a shiny white body with brownish-orange dorsal plates on the thoracic segments; spiracles are black. They can feed for two years from September to July on the roots of various plants including bracken (Pteridium species), dandelion (Taraxacum species), docks (Rumex species), hop (Humulus lupulus) and viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare).
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 5 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 6 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 8 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Cologne | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Swift sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 473rd 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 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Swift in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to August, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Orange Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Orange Swift sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 10%), Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 10%) and Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Orange Swift that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Queen Of Spain Fritillary (about 40%), Small Copper (about 30%) and Speckled Wood (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Orange Swift is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra de Guadarrama 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.
