Hepialus humuli
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The ghost moth or ghost swift (Hepialus humuli) is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is common throughout Europe, except for the far south-east. Female ghost moths are larger than males, and exhibit sexual dimorphism with their differences in size and wing color. The adults fly from June to August and are attracted to light. The species overwinters as a larva. The larva is whitish and maggot-like and feeds underground on the roots of a variety of wild and cultivated plants (see list below). The species can be an economically significant pest in forest nurseries.
The term ghost moth is sometimes used as a general term for all hepialids. The ghost moth gets its name from the hovering display flight of the male, sometimes slowly rising and falling, over open ground to attract females. In a suitable location, several males may display together in a lek.
Female ghost moths have a wingspan of 50–70 mm. They have yellowish-buff forewings with darker linear markings and brown hindwings. Males are smaller, with a wingspan of 46–50 mm, and typically have white or silver wings. However, in H. h. thulensis, found in Shetland and the Faroe Islands, there are buff... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 4 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ghost Moth sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 630th most-seen of the 818 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ghost Moth in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ghost Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Ghost Moth sightings, Wadden Sea National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ghost Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea National Park (7 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.
