Handmaiden Moth

Handmaiden Moth

Syntomoides imaon

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

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

14 Verified sightings at Taroko National Park From 2019 to 2026
117 In all 7 parks
May Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Handmaiden Moth

Syntomoides imaon, the handmaiden moth, is a moth of subfamily Arctiinae, subtribe Ctenuchina. The systematics of the subfamily has been revised. It was described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is found in Pakistan (Sindh), India (Sikkim, Khasi hills, Tamil Nadu, Kerala), Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, China (Hong Kong), Thailand and Vietnam.

The moth has a wingspan of 34 mm. The frons and collar are yellow with the metathorax having a yellow streak. The first abdominal segment has a yellow band which is sometimes obsolescent. The forewing has large hyaline patches, one filling the cell, another filling nearly the whole interno-median interspace, one at junction of veins 2 and 3, two subapical, and two submarginal. In the form S. i. sargania, there is a long streak between veins 5 and 6. In others it is reduced to a spot or may be lacking entirely. The hindwing has a postbasal hyaline patch extending hardly (or not at all) beyond the cell. The tips of the antennae and proximal joints of the tarsi are white. The spots of the forewing vary considerably in size. The male individual is slender and long abdomen than female. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
2 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
4 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
5 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
6 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
7 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Naha 🇯🇵 Japan
~30%
2 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Berhampore 🇮🇳 India
~30%
4 Tuen Mun 🇨🇳 China
~20%
5 Chandigarh 🇮🇳 India
~20%
6 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Bengaluru 🇮🇳 India
~20%
8 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~20%
9 Ponnani 🇮🇳 India
~20%
10 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~20%

Before you go

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

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Handmaiden Moth sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 135th most-seen of the 447 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

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

May

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Handmaiden Moth in Taroko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Handmaiden Moth?

Between 9 pm and midnight

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Handmaiden Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.

Which relatives of the Handmaiden Moth live in Taroko National Park?

Same family: Erebidae

The closest relatives of the Handmaiden Moth that you can see in Taroko National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Cocoa Tussock Moth (about 60%), Taiwan Yellow Tussock Moth (about 50%) and Chrysaeglia magnifica (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Handmaiden Moth sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Handmaiden Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Taroko 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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