Syntherata janetta from New Guinea

bugman

November 24th, 2008 at 9:54 am

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Papua New Guinea, saturnid moth
Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 6:17 AM
Papua New Guinea, saturnid moth
We were on a diving trip in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea and some great moths appeared on the boat every night. We missed getting a photo of the big saturnid moth with long tails, but we did get a good photo of this yellow moth. It was quite common in that area of Milne Bay. Any idea what it is?
Thanks
Bruce Carlson
Papua New Guinea, Milne Bay

Syntherata janetta from New Guinea

Hi Bruce,
We identified your moth as Syntherata janetta on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site which is membership only and run by Bill Oehlke. It is also found in Australia, and you may read about it on OzAnimals website where it is called an Emperor Moth. There are several color variations and the caterpillars feed on the leaves from a variety of trees, including citrus and guava.

Thanks! If you’re ever in Atlanta, look me up. I’ll show you around the Georgia Aquarium.
Bruce