Lily Borer

Lily Borer

Brithys crini

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Table Mountain National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

86 Verified sightings at Table Mountain National Park From 2019 to 2026
95 In all 2 parks
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Lily Borer

Brithys crini, the amaryllis borer, crinum borer, lily borer or Kew arches, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a garden pest in parts of its range, as their larvae damage the stems and leaves of lilies, especially lilies of the family Amaryllidaceae.

It is found in the coastal areas of Southern Europe and North Africa, south to South Africa. Furthermore, it is found in Japan and in Queensland and Northern Territory in Australia towards India and Sri Lanka. The wingspan of the moth is about 40 mm. Its head, thorax and forewings are very dark brown, but paler toward the wingtips. Sub-basal, median and postmedial indistinct waved lines are black. A curved submarginal ochreous line with ferrous colored lunules found on each side of it. There is a marginal black lunule series. The hindwings are practically white. Tarsi bear black and white stripes. In Europe the adults are on the wing in July.

There are several generations per year, though development slows down in cooler seasons, when the larvae sometimes overwinter by boring into the bulbs of the host plants. The moth lays clusters of a few dozen eggs on the host plant leaves. The... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
2 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
2 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
3 Cape Town 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
4 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
5 Harare 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
6 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
<5%
7 Chennai 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
9 Tokyo 🇯🇵 Japan
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Lily Borer in Table Mountain National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lily Borer sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 86 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 57th most-seen of the 344 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Lily Borer in Table Mountain National Park?

March–September and November–December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lily Borer in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February and October, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Lily Borer?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lily Borer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Table Mountain National Park the best place to see a Lily Borer?

Yes

Of the 2 parks where we can rate Lily Borer sightings, Table Mountain National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Garden Route National Park (South Africa, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Lily Borer live in Table Mountain National Park?

Same family: Noctuidae

The closest relatives of the Lily Borer that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Cherry Spot (about 10%), Suring Moth (about 10%) and Cotton Bollworm Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Lily Borer sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Lily Borer is recorded against all the insects logged in Table Mountain National Park (86 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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