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Is this a butterfly? If so, what species/family?
Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 5:34 AM
Photo taken in Malaysia near a foothill with heavy vegetation and fresh running water.
KF Tung
Taiping, Perak, Malaysia.

Unknown Insect from Malaysia

Dear KF Tung,
While we can say with certainty that this is not a butterfly, we are not certain exactly what it is. Your photos, all three of them, are blurry and lacking in detail. We are posting the best of the three in the hopes that a reader can assist with this identification. We suspect this may be a Nerve Winged insect in the order Neuroptera, of some insect that spends its larval stage underwater

Update:  December 8, 2008
Hello Bugman:
I believe this is a species of day-flying moth (family Zygaenidae) probably Pompelon marginata . Based on online images , there seems to be some variability within the species, and I couldn’t find anything that looked exactly like the photo from KF Tung. Iridescence and angle of light may also play into it, but the vivid blue leading edge of the forewing appears to be a consistent feature. Red flanking on the abdomen is also a feature of the species, but this is unfortunately not visible in the photo provided. Regards.
Karl

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