Brown Tussock Moth

Brown Tussock Moth

Olene mendosa

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Taroko National Park

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

52 Verified sightings at Taroko National Park From 2019 to 2026
60 In all 2 parks
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Brown Tussock Moth

Olene mendosa, the brown tussock moth or hairy tussock moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1823. It is found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia.

Sexes show dimorphism with variable colour morphs. The wingspan of the female is about 46–54 mm, whereas the male's is about 30–40 mm. The adult male has two morphs. The common form is smoke brown with uniformly brown forewings and pale greyish hindwings. In the forewing, black specks and a pale patch outside the subbasal line can be seen.

The adult female also has two forms with an areole on each forewing and they lack the white colored portions on forewings which is found on male. The common form has an irregular longitudinal dark brown zone in the center of forewing. The more rare form has pale colours. The underside of the wings are similar in both sexes with less pronounced markings.

The full-grown caterpillar is 38–44 mm long. It is hairy with four white or brown dorsal tussocks. It is greyish brown with a crimson-reddish head, legs and prolegs. Head with red stripes found on full-grown caterpillar. Pupation occurs... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~30%
2 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yangon 🇲🇲 Myanmar
~20%
2 Taichung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
3 Taipei 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
4 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
5 Tainan 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
6 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
7 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Hyderabad 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Bengaluru 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Mumbai 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Brown Tussock Moth in Taroko National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Tussock Moth sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 52 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 31st most-seen of the 447 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brown Tussock Moth in Taroko National Park?

December and January

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Tussock Moth in Taroko National Park on a given day, against about 10% in August to October, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Brown Tussock Moth?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Tussock Moth 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 Taroko National Park the best place to see a Brown Tussock Moth?

Yes

Of the 2 parks where we can rate Brown Tussock Moth sightings, Taroko National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Kanha National Park (India, about 20%).

Where does the Brown Tussock Moth sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Brown Tussock Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Taroko National Park (52 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.

← Back to Taroko National Park