Subject: Lepidoptera Madagascar
Location: Masoala, Madagascar
April 30, 2015 8:11 am
Dear Bugman,
Besides the ladybug from last week I found a lot of other interesting creatures. Another one is this Lepidoptera, also from the jungle of Masoala, Madagascar.
Do you have any ideas? I was thinking in the direction of the Arctiinae (erebid moths) ?
Thanks!
Signature: Dennis
Wow Dennis,
Your image is a riot of primary, saturated color. Our first impression is also Arctiinae, and more specifically the Lichen Moths in the tribe Lithosiini, and you can view numerous North American species on BugGuide. Our initial search turned up nothing, and we really need to get some sleep after a long, hard day.
Update: We still haven’t located a species identification for this spectacular moth, and we are enlisting the assistance of our readership.
That looks like a gay pride moth or something.
Nice thought. Perhaps if we ever determine the identity and it does not have a common name, that can be proposed.
Looks more like The Scarlet Macaw parrot, even the color grades resembles it.
To me it resembles a Forester moth (Zygaenidae). Clearly not represented on the internet yet though.
Welcome back Curious Girl. That is an interesting thought. We will see if that turns up any leads.
Thanks for the re-welcome. I have been having a lot of bug fun and currently have several transforming caterpillars from an organic farm in Portugal, and just released a Silver Y Moth this morning. At least 4 of the current transformers though should be Io Peacock butterflies (3 have gone missing as they are little escape artists but I found one on my ceiling because disturbingly they shed their head and legs when they enclose… but so many more bugs! Been thinking about sending you a few pics including those you asked for but figure you might actually be too busy for them now.