Subject: Nepali moth
Location: Nepal
September 20, 2014 11:58 pm
Dear bugman,
here is a small day-flying moth taken in June, in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. It’s about an inch long. Can you tell me what it is? It looks like a lady singing an aria.
Signature: Curious
Dear Curious,
The markings on the thorax of this Tiger Moth do indeed resemble the face of a woman with a mouth opened wide in song. Having guessed correctly that the subfamily is Arctiinae, we quickly found a matching image on FlickR that is identified as a Footman Moth, Barsine orientalis. We then located an image on SinoBug that supports the initial identification, but we realized is was another view from the same location taken by the same photographer, so we decided to search for a unique verification. We found verification on the Moths of Thailand site.
Dear Daniel,
thank you so much for the quick reply and the accurate identification!
Mia