Oak Yellow Underwing

Oak Yellow Underwing

Catocala nymphagoga

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Sierra Nevada National Park

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

14 Verified sightings at Sierra Nevada National Park From 2019 to 2026
150 In all 3 parks
July Best month
🌙 Nocturnal When it's spotted

About the Oak Yellow Underwing

Catocala nymphagoga, the oak yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Southern Europe, from Bulgaria up to the Iberian Peninsula and sometimes further north as a migrant. It is also found in North Africa and Asia Minor.

Forewing grey more or less wholly suffused with blackish brown, the basal area, or at least its lower half, a costal patch beyond inner line, a streak from costa before outer line, and the submarginal line itself remaining pale; inner and outer lines velvety black, distinct, sometimes doubled; the inner oblique, dentate inwards on the veins; the outer biangulate externally (in vein 5, forming a deep sinus inwards, its end below the reniform pale, and an inward angle on vein 1: reniform indistinct, obscured by the brown median shade, with dark centre and outline; subterminal line waved, distinct, with darker dentate edges; hindwing yellow, with broad black terminal border, containing a small yellow spot at apex and a sinus inwardly in submedian interval: the median band narrow and straight, acutely or squarely angled on the submedian fold, the base of wing often darkened with olive fuscous; - the darkest... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
2 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
3 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Oak Yellow Underwing in Sierra Nevada National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Oak Yellow Underwing sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 282nd most-seen of the 479 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Oak Yellow Underwing in Sierra Nevada National Park?

July

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Oak Yellow Underwing in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. That is one of Sierra Nevada National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 130 mm in March.

What time of day is best to see an Oak Yellow Underwing?

Between 11 pm and 2 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oak Yellow Underwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.

Is Sierra Nevada National Park the best place to see an Oak Yellow Underwing?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Oak Yellow Underwing sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%) and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 10%).

Where does the Oak Yellow Underwing sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Oak Yellow Underwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra Nevada National Park (14 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.

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