mad about moths

Fraser's Hill (20-23 Mar 2010)

2010-03-28T17:17:00.005+08:00

I was woken up before dawn on the morning of 22 March 2010 by loud knocking on my bedroom door. It'd better be selene, I thought, otherwise I would have a score to settle with the knocker of doors. Yes! Before my bleary, groggy eyes, was Actias selene! He IS worth waiting 3 years for, beautiful, ephemeral, elusive selene...

Actias selene (Indian Moon Moth)

Another beautiful lunar moth, Actias maenas (Malaysian Moon Moth) had also come to visit. Just as wondrous, but not as elusive, as he had come to visit us a few times before.

Another lifer for this trip was the female of Actias maenas, as the females don't seem to be as attracted to the lights as the males.

Brahmaea hearseyi (Owl Moth)

Saturniids in a row, with cricula at bottom.

A new hawkmoth which we hadn't seen before, Clanis sp.

Moths from Pulau Ubin, Singapore

2009-01-09T00:18:00.007+08:00

Ambulyx pryeri

Spirama sp.

Fraser's Hill moths (26-30 Dec 2008)

2009-01-08T22:49:00.037+08:00

Brahmaea hearseyi (Owl moth)

Saturniid
Antheraea lampei

Hawkmoths

Theretra nessus

Eupanacra regularis

Daphnusa ocellaris

Daphnis hypothous

Cechenena subangustata

Amplypterus panopus

Ampelophaga rubiginosa

Ambulyx substrigilis

Ambulyx pryeri

Ambulyx moorei

Ambulyx canescens

Acosmeryx shervillii

Other moths

Lyssa sp.

Macrauzata melanapex

Eupterote sp.

Euhampsonia roepkei

Cyana malayensis (f)

Unidentified flying moths

orange mite on left eye of moth.

Pyralids

Sunrise from balcony of Buona Vista bungalow.

Fraser's Hill (7-10 Sep 2008)

2008-09-16T15:04:00.008+08:00

it was very windy this time round & we didn't get many moths but still, there were a few i hadn't seen before!

for example, this pretty hawkmoth wearing striped pyjamas, Hippotion celerio.

Antheraea sp.

Trabala ganesha

Pericallia trigonalis (closed).

open sesame! Pericallia trigonalis

Oeonistis entella

Loepantheraea rosieri

Fraser's Hill (1-6 May 2008)

2008-05-11T17:04:00.007+08:00

The following pix show an exciting scene of an assassin bug preying on a hapless moth...

Gottcha...

The assassin turns the moth upside down...

Pierces his heart...

Slurrrppp....

fraser's hill (4-8 apr 2008)

2008-04-13T17:09:00.048+08:00

Actias maenas diana

Archaeoattacus edwardsii (f)

Samia kholi

Brahmaea hearseyi

Loepa megacore

Loepa sikkima

Cricula trifenestrata

Antheraea lampei (m)

Hawkmoths

Ambulyx joicely

Ambulyx obliterata

Macroglossum mitchelli

Meganoton analis

Psilogramma menephron

Thereta rhesus

Thereta nessus

moths from khao yai national park, thailand (8-12 feb 2008)

2008-02-23T15:30:00.016+08:00

Hawkmoths

Death's Head Hawkmoth

Other moths

more moths from fraser's hill

2008-01-01T15:27:00.004+08:00

well, here we are again, drawn to fraser's hill like moths to a flame. we were there from 26-30 dec 2007 and on the 2nd day, we found a caterpillar of a moth at the dump and the same species of caterpillar again chomping up african violets in a pot outside a bungalow.

here are some pix of moths which visited our bungalow.

this is a saturniid Antheraea rosieri (f) which the caretakers found on a wall in the kitchen.

fraser's hill moths

2007-10-23T17:14:00.000+08:00

Macrocilix maia

this beautiful moth, which we fondly call our bug moth, was photographed at the bungalow we were staying in at fraser's hill on 28 dec 2006. notice the pattern of a bug on each forewing. this moth got us raving about the moths at fraser's hill and other moth enthusiasts caught the bug and we rounded up a mothing gang and headed off to fraser's again in april 2007.

the following 3 pictures are some saturniids (family Saturniidae) of fraser's hill that i took during our trip in apr 2007. these moths often have spots that resemble the planet saturn on their wings.

Actias maenas (Malaysian Moon Moth)

this flamboyant beauty (also a saturniid) is the most beautiful moth i have ever seen in my entire life. it was what we came looking for, and it's totally worth being dragged out of my warm and toasty bed to prance around in the cold, misty morning in my pyjamas gawking and shooting pictures of this and all the other beauties.

we didn't get to see the other lunar moth, Actias selene (Indian Moon Moth), but the mothing gang will definitely go on our quest to look for the elusive selene again and again until we find our goddess of the moon (selene is the goddess of the moon in greek mythology).

the following hawkmoths were identified by leong tzi ming (thanks, ming).

Amplypterus panopus

Ambulyx sp. (topside)

the brown colouring left me unprepared for the surprise that awaited me when i went over to the other side of the bush to photograph its front view.

Ambulyx sp. (underside)

the vibrant colours of the underside jolted me quite a bit. these creatures never fail to surprise me!

atlas moth encounter

2007-10-21T15:48:00.000+08:00

well, hello! this is my 1st posting for any blog as i am still a blockhead.

i had a recent encounter with an atlas moth, with its underside fully revealed to me as it was perched on the outside of a glass panel on the 12th floor of raffles hospital. as i exited the lift on the 12th floor, i was pleasantly surprised to see a huge moth on the other side of the ceiling to floor glass paneling on 12 sep 2007 at 1030 hrs. i took a photo of it with my camera phone, which is why the picture is not so good, and thought that it must be the beginning of the lunar month. moths usually emerge from the forests and fly towards light especially on moonless nights after the rain. true enough, when i checked the calendar later, i found out that it was the 2nd day of the lunar month so the moth must have flown out on the night of the 1st day of the lunar month and settled on the glass panel as there might have been light in the corridor. the glass panels overlook an inner courtyard within the hospital so the moth might have emerged from there too after metamorphosis.

mad about moths

2007-10-19T20:26:00.000+08:00

hi all, i am here at a blogging workshop (there are tons of nature lovers here) and i am writing my first post! yaay! july is my tutor... i would like to blog about moths as i feel that people tend to miss noticing them. they are beautiful. my wish is for everyone to know them more :) especially kids.