Dysstroma citrata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Dysstroma citrata, the dark marbled carpet or northern marbled carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is found across the Holarctic ecozone and has been reported from India.
The wingspan is 25–32 mm. The ground colour of the forewings may show whitish, grey, black or brown tints but the colour is extremely variable and there are strongly darkened forms. Prout describes some aberrations. Characteristic is the protruding post medial line on the front wings, which usually reaches the post discal wavy line or interrupts it. Very similar to Dysstroma truncata.
Adult larvae are light green with two white dorsal lines. They have an approximately cylindrical shape as well as a blunt anus flap. The pupa is of green with whitish wing sheaths and has a brown, blunt rounded cremaster.
Adults are on wing from July to August. It is found from Europe through the temperate zone of Asia through northwest China, Mongolia to the Russian Far East and Japan. It is absent in Portugal, on the Mediterranean islands and Greece. In the north, it occurs in Scandinavia up to Lapland and Iceland and the Faroe Islands. In North America it is found from Alaska and Newfoundland to New England and California. It is also reported in India.
It has been found at a height of about 2,400 metres in the Alps. It prefers mountainous areas, wetlands, mountain forests and bushy slopes. The larvae feed on various shrubs and herbaceous plants, including Vaccinium species such as V. myrtillus and V. uliginosum as well as Aster tripolium, Alnus and Salix. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark Marbled Carpet sighting in Vanoise National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 220th most-seen of the 308 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.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dark Marbled Carpet in Vanoise National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark Marbled Carpet sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Dark Marbled Carpet sightings, Vanoise National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Cairngorms National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dark Marbled Carpet is recorded against all the insects logged in Vanoise National Park (9 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.
