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Post by johnnyboy on Feb 23, 2021 15:34:37 GMT -8
Anyone with an ID? Very unusual combination of colours, caught at light. Colourful Bhutan Moth imgur.com/gallery/vVLC3aPThanks Johnny |
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Post by benihikage92 on Feb 23, 2021 22:46:55 GMT -8
Hi Johnny,
Your moth's name is Eligma narcissus.
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Post by johnnyboy on Feb 24, 2021 0:30:38 GMT -8
Many thanks for the ID. I notice that it is a pest of the Tree of Heaven, I used to have a very big Ailanthus in my front garden. We had to cut it down as it became rotted with honey fungus. I would have minded if it had been destroyed by a beautiful moth like the "Ailanthus Defoliator"
Johnny
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Post by 58chevy on Feb 24, 2021 7:52:46 GMT -8
That is a spectacular-looking moth. How big is the wingspan?
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Post by Adam Cotton on Feb 24, 2021 9:22:16 GMT -8
I seem to remember these are about 5cm across.
Adam.
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Post by johnnyboy on Feb 25, 2021 4:22:08 GMT -8
Adam, its wingspan is about 8cm. Looking online, it seems variable, from 5.5cm to 8.8cm It is a really beautiful moth. Very unusual combination of colours. I notice that there is a similar species found in Africa, it has the same forewing countershading but lacks the beautiful blue on the outer hind wings but has white patches instead. E. narcissus has a large geographic range, some examples seem to lack the blue.
While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, my own two favourites are this moth and the Spanish Moon Moth, G. Isabellae. The Lappet moth, Gastropacha quercifolia, comes close, too, especially when newly emerged with a purple sheen.
There are a surprising number of lovely looking moths that are considered pest species. Castinid moths come to mind. The box tree moth, which have destroyed our front box garden hedges, have an attractive silver white sheen in the common form. The dark form has a sheen too. I have a one of each form , that I caught around my gardens, in my collection now.
Johnny
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Post by Adam Cotton on Feb 25, 2021 8:30:32 GMT -8
8cm sounds a bit large compared to my memory of local specimens in Thailand (it's been many years since I ran a moth trap so my memory may be playing tricks). Of course it is also possible that they are a bit smaller here for environmental reasons.
Adam.
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Post by johnnyboy on Feb 25, 2021 12:30:54 GMT -8
I just measured the wingspan using calipers, it is 72mm exactly, so you are correct in thinking 80mm is an exaggeration.
You have said that the Thai specimens you remember were somewhat smaller. Bhutan is high elevation and much cooler than your location of course. You mentioned the difference in environment. There is a developmental paradox in that a particular insect species will often grow bigger in a cooler environment. I know that this has been reported in montane populations of orthoptera for example. This is thought to arise because the period between ecdysis in the larva is much longer at lower temperatures than warmer ones, this allows the larval instars to grow bigger between moults, giving a bigger imago. As an expert Lepidopterist and Entomologist you will no doubt know alot more about this than me. Presumably there may be a genetic component too.
Johnny
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