Jodis lactearia
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Jodis lactearia, the little emerald, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, from Ireland to Japan.
The wingspan is 23–26 mm. When freshly emerged from the pupa the ground colour is delicate light green, but this fades to white. There are two white medial lines on forewings and hindwings. The white postmedian line is on both wings almost entirely parallel to the distal margin, and not dentate. The hindwing is slightly angled. The larva is long and thin, green, the head is divided by a deep cleft into two pointed lobes.
The larva mainly feeds on various trees and bushes, including Betula, Crataegus and Quercus species. It frequents wooded country, and flies rather early in the evening. Its flight is weak and vacillating, and never very long sustained. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Emerald 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 536th 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 Little Emerald in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Emerald 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.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Little Emerald sightings, Wadden Sea National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, under 5%) and Pyrénées National Park (France, under 5%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Little Emerald that you can see in Wadden Sea National Park (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Riband Wave (about 10%), Yellow Shell Moth (about 10%) and Small Engrailed (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Emerald 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.
