Xylophanes tyndarus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Xylophanes tyndarus is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1875. It is distributed from Mexico and Belize to Brazil and westward into Bolivia. The wingspan is 75 to 86 mm (3.0 to 3.4 in). The upperside of the body and wings is green, often very bright. The underside of the body is whitish green. The forewing has three narrow antemedian lines. The postmedian line is well marked, straight, the basal edge is sharply delineated, the distal edge is diffuse and it is gradually lightening toward the outer margin. The remaining postmedian lines are poorly defined or absent. The oblique apical line is short. The oblique apical line on the forewing underside forms an angle with the irregularly undulate postmedian line, the marginal area bordered by these lines is as broad as in Xylophanes schausi. The green median band on the hindwing does not reach the costa. The distal margin is often green.
There are probably at least two generations per year. In Costa Rica, adults have been recorded from November to February and again from April to July. In Brazil, adults have been recorded in September and December. The larvae feed on Faramea occidentalis and probably other Rubiaceae species. Early instars are green with yellow eyes, and feed solely on new leaves. They turn brown in the last instar and have a yellow eyespot. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Xylophanes tyndarus sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 180th most-seen of the 253 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February and May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Xylophanes tyndarus in Soberanía National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April and June–December, the lowest months. Those are among Soberanía National Park's driest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against 350 mm in November.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Xylophanes tyndarus 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 Soberanía National Park, in our data
Soberanía National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Xylophanes tyndarus sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Sphingidae
The closest relatives of the Xylophanes tyndarus that you can see in Soberanía National Park (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Streaked Sphinx (about 10%), Isognathus scyron (about 10%) and Florestan Sphinx (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Xylophanes tyndarus is recorded against all the insects logged in Soberanía 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.
