Moth Of The Day #222

Madagascan Sunset Moth

Chrysiridia rhipheus

From the uraniidae family. They have a wingspan of 7-11 cm. They inhabit a wide variety of habitatsd, from deciduous forests to rain forest regions. They are endemic to Masagascar.

Image sources: [1] [2]

Madagascan sunset moth, Chrysiridia rhipheus, feeding.

What is your favourite type of butterfly?

Thanks for the question!

I'm not super knowledgeable on the species/types of butterflies but from what I've seen, the Glasswing butterfly (Greta oto) is definitely up there in my list of favorites:

Another super cool one I found out about very recently is the Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus):

though technically not a butterfly but let's just say it counts. ☀️

Moth of the Week

Madagascan Sunset Moth

Chrysiridia rhipheus (misspelled “ripheus”)

The Madagascan sunset moth is in the family Uraniidae. This species was first described in 1773 by Dru Drury who put it in the Papilio genus, a genus of butterflies. He though this because it looked like a swallowtail butterfly, and additionally the specimen he was given had a different species’s head with clubbed antennae (a defining characteristic of butterflies) attached to the body. Jacob Hübner corrected this mistake in 1823 and placed the moth in the genus Chrysiridia. I though this moth would be perfect to post in June for its rainbow colors.

Description The Madagascan sunset moth’s body are covered in black fur on the back and orange fur on the underside. The thorax is an iridescent blue or green and the legs and head are black with filiform antennae. The wings are iridescent red, blue, and green with the colors mixing for the full rainbow. Black patterning of spots and stripes are on all four wings with the forewings having a black edge. The hindwings themselves have a white fringe on the edge and six tails which are often broken off or damaged over time. The upper side of both wings are mostly black with a large patch by the body. Patterns on the wings can vary and some moths are asymmetrical. This can be caused by many things like temperature shock during growth.

The colors on this moth’s wings do not come from pigments, but instead are caused by the scattering of light from the wings’ scales.

Average wingspan in high altitudes: 7 cm (≈2.8 in)

Average wingspan in low altitudes: 9 cm (≈3.5 in)

On occasion a moth’s wingspan can be as large as 11 cm (≈4.3 in).

Diet and Habitat The larva feed on four types of plants from the Omphalea genus that grow only on Madagascar. These species are O. ankaranensis, O. palmata, O. occidentalis, and O. oppositifolia. The larva eat all parts of the plants from leaves, to stems, to flowers, to fruits, but they avoid the veins of the leave which have a toxic latex in them. Adult moths drink nectar and prefer white or whitish-yellow flowers especially from the Indian almond tree, tea plant, loquat, plants in the Eucalyptus genus, and common mango tree.

First believed to have come from China or Bengal, this moth is only found in Madagascar. They migrate over the island to different areas with their host plant and can be found all over the island except for the south west and extreme south where their host does not grow. This moth’s preferred habitats are deciduous forests and rain forest regions.

Mating These moths mate all year but have the highest populations in March to August and the lowest populations in October to December. The females lay their eggs late in the afternoon or at nightfall. The females will usually lay the eggs in the underside of the host plant’s leaves in groups but can on occasion lay them on top.

Average number of eggs laid in each group: 80 eggs

Predators The Omphalea genus the caterpillars feed on also attracts polistine wasps who prey on the larva. However, the caterpillars and adult moths are toxic because the Omphalea species contains polyhydroxy alkaloids, which the caterpillars gain by eating and retain as adult moths. The wings’ bring colors are a warning signal of this.

Fun Fact The Malagasy people believe the souls of the dead or of ancestors appears in the form of a lepidopteran. The Madagascan sunset moth is specifically called adriandolo or lolonandriana, from lolo for "spirit" or "butterfly" and andriana for "noble" or "king.”

Additionally, eating the silk from this moth is said to cause a euphoric high.

Another interesting fact is the Madagascan sunset moth is one of only two species in the Chrysiridia genus.

(Source: Wikipedia, Moth Identification, Bug Under Glass)

Chrysiridia rhipheus wing pendants by Bflydesignz.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤

Madagascan Sunset Moth

At Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo

"Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus), Vohimana reserve, Madagascar" by Frank.Vassen is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus) wing scales at 50x magnification

Photos by Nicky Bay // Website // Facebook

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

The moth itself:

Photos by sympiotr

Detail of wing of Chrysiridia rhipheus or sunset moth

give us the moth list bestie i know you wanna talk about it

THE MOTH LIST!!!!!

OK OK OK THIS LIST IS BASED LESS ON PERSONALITY AND MORE ON AESTHETICS LETS BEGIN

RAPH: Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas)

LEO: Scylla Firetip (Elbella scylla)

DONNIE: White-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata)

MIKEY: Comet moth/Madagascan moon moth (Argema mittrei)

BONUS CONTENT

APRIL: Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus)

SPLINTER: Isabella tiger moth aka wooly bear moth (Pyrrharctia isabella)

CASEY JONES: Glover's silkmoth (Hyalophora gloveri)

CASEY JR: Cabbage tree emperor moth (Bunaea alcinoe)

Lepidopterans from the Edinburgh Journal of Natural History and of the Physical Sciences, Vol. 1 (1835-1839).

"Lepidopterans" includes both moths and butterflies. The moth in the bottom middle is the lovely Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus), which was once classified as a butterfly. The butterfly in the middle is the male common green birdwing (Ornithoptera priamus). This species exhibits sexual dimorphism in which the female is larger than the male and has brown and white coloring.

pete's quad form needed a redesign! here it is! (wing coloration based on the Chrysiridia rhipheus butterfly)

Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheu) with Mosaic Gynandromorph

Chrysiridia rhipheus better known as the adriandolo, the lolonandriana, or the Madagascan sunset moth, is a species of moth of the family Uraniidae which is endemic to Madagascar. Here these sunset moths are found throughout the majority of the island with the exception of the southern deserts, with adults routinely migrating in the thousands between groves of there host plants: shrubs and trees in the genus Omphalea. Adult moths are also attracted to white and yellow flowers to feed on there nectar, particularly the flowers of the common mango, loquat, Sydney blue gum, Indian almond, Cussonia, and tea tree. Unlike most moths, the sunset moth is day flying utilizing the sunlight to showcase its bright aposematic colors to warn predators of its toxicity. At night they roost in large groups in the canopy some 300ft (100m) off the ground. With a wingspan reaching some 2.8 to 4.3 inches (7 to 11cms) in length, the sunset moth is black in coloration with iridescent red, blue and green markings. There is a fringe of white scales on the wing edges, wider on the hindwings with these wings sporting 6 distinct tails. Breeding occurs year round, with females laying some 60 to 110 eggs late in the afternoon or at nightfall on there host plants. After 3 to 4 days the eggs hatch and the larvae begin to feed upon the host plant. The caterpillars are whitish yellow with black spots and red feet and are covered in club-ended black setae. They are selective at first only eating parts of the leaves to avoid the plants toxic latex. But after 3 to 4 days of growth they begin to also eat the flowers, fruit, tendrils, petioles and young stems as they begin to incorporate the toxins into there body and create silk to deal with excess latex, said silk enable them to stick to and climb various surfaces. After spending 2 to 3 months as a caterpillar the larvae then spins a cocoon out of silk, where they will spend 17 to 23 days as a chrysalis before emerging as an adult.

STEDE!! He's got a Chrysiridia rhipheus or Madagascian Sunset Moth. Thier wings are nice and colourful and look like glitter!!