Actebia praecox
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Actebia praecox, the Portland moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in northern and central Europe, the Caucasus, central Asia, Siberia, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, the Kuriles, northern Turkey, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan.
The wingspan is 35–40 mm. "Forewing narrow and elongate, dull pale green, dusted with whitish; the three stigmata ochreous concisely black-edged; orbicular round, with a rounded rufous centre, reniform with a fine angled line swollen at each end; submarginal line preceded by a dull vinous band; apex whitish; hindwing fuscous brown. — ab. flavomaculata Graes., bluish green with the ochreous tints more yellow and the hindwings much darke-r, is confined to the Asiatic localities, but Leech states that some Irish specimens resemble it."
The caterpillar is light grey, or greenish coloured, has a dark lined yellowish back stripe with adjacent striking, ornamental, bright markings as well as yellow dorsolateral lines and a wide, white lateral stripe. The very slender pupa is shiny reddish brown and has a long thorn on the cremaster.
It is almost exclusively found on sandy terrain, for example in dune areas, sandy fields, shore regions and sand heaths. The larvae feed on Salix repens and other sand-dune plants. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Portland Moth sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 9 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 and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Portland Moth in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Portland Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Wadden Sea National Park, in our data
Wadden Sea National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Portland Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Portland Moth that you can see in Wadden Sea National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Large Yellow Underwing (about 20%), Silver Υ (about 20%) and Flame Shoulder Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Portland Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea 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.
