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When people think of moths they often think of boring little insects whizzing around light bulbs at night. But the world of moths is more than just these ordinary janes. Indeed, some of the most beautiful lepidoptera are moths.
However, what is the difference between a moth and a? butterfly? A hairy, robust body and antennae that are feathered or wiry, with no buds at the end are two forms of identification of moths. Moths tend to fold their wings over their backs instead of resting while folded upright, as butterflies do. Most, but not all, are nocturnal. On an evolutionary scale, moths appeared much earlier than butterflies, and there are many more. Many moths are indeed neutral colored as that helps camouflage them during the day when they are resting, but some are spectacularly colorful. The following is a list and some facts about some of the world’s most beautiful moths.
#10: Madagascar Sunset Mot
No one can blame anyone for thinking that this sensationally colorful moth is a butterfly. Only found in Madagascar, this is a large, day-flying moth with a wingspan between 3.25 and four inches. The ground color is black and the hindwings are particularly showy, with many tails. The animal gets its name from the sunset-colored spots on the underside of the hind wings. The hindwings are also blue striped and there are green bands, dots and stippling on the forewings. The iridescent parts of its wings are caused by a trick of light rather than pigment. But its colorful wings aren’t just for the pleasure of human creatures. They warn potential predators that the moth is poisonous. The caterpillar eat only the leaves, flowers and fruits of omphalea shrubs, which are full of alkaloids.
While collectors are eager to get their hands on one, the Madagascan sunset moth is not as rare as it could be. This is due to the belief of the Malagasy people that it represents the souls of their ancestors, and to kill it would be a desecration.
#9: Silver and Sand
This unexpectedly beautiful moth develops from an olive-grey inchworm and is thus a member of the geometridae family. It can be found in the temperate forests and lowlands of many places around the world, including Europe, North America, Russia, and China. Its wings bear a lacy black and white pattern with a remarkable checkerboard pattern on the edges of the wings. The black and white pattern even continues over his body. Like the sunset moth, the silver and sable fly during the day. It is small, with a wingspan of only 1 to 1.5 inches, and males and females are equal.
#8: Million moths
Million moths are also day-flying geometers, but instead of the black and white color of the argent and sable, their wings, which have mostly black ground, are embellished with patches of vibrant red, blue, yellow, and orange. These moth species have a wingspan of between 1.5 and 2 inches and can be found in Oceania and as far north as Japan and west to Myanmar and the Malaysian peninsula. There are at least 28 species of this moth, and some have subspecies. Identification can be a bit challenging as many species look similar. A few include:
- M. basalis pryeric: This moth has orange-yellow bands on the underside of its hindwings that connect to orange-yellow bands on its forewings. The bands on the hindwings bear black spots.
- M. basalis guentheric: This moth has red bands instead of orange bands and a bright blue starburst pattern on the inside of both the forewings and hindwings. The body of the insect is also blue and black.
- M elegans: This moth has a golden belly and its front wings are covered with white spots. There are red spots on the hindwings.
- M. fulgida: Found in Borneo and Java, this moth has a red stripe on its forewing and bursts of iridescent blue-green on its wings that extend to the abdomen.
- M queenslandica: As the name implies, this moth is found in Queensland, Australia. It has an orange band on its forewing and yellow spots on its hindwing, and its belly is striped in black and yellow.
#7: Spanish Moon Moth
This moth, like the other moon moths listed here, belongs to the Saturniidae family, but does not belong to the same genus. Found in the forests of Spain and the Pyrenees, it is notable for the way the veins in its wings are outlined in dark brown and filled with reddish brown. This makes the wings, which are pale in color, look like shards of stained glass. Each wing also has an eye spot. One half of the eye spot is yellow and the other is purple, and they have white centers.
Females are larger than males, but the males’ forewings are more angular and butterfly-like, and their hindwings have long tails.
Its antennae are also more feathered. The female’s hind wings have lobes. The moth has a wingspan of 2.5 to 4 inches. The caterpillar eats pine needles, but only pine needles from its native habitat.
#6: White Witch
One of the interesting facts about this moth is that it has the largest wingspan of any moth in the world, and perhaps the largest insect in the world. The span of this lepidoptera is between nine and 12 inches. But besides that, it is one of the most beautiful moths. While not colorful, its pale wings bear intricate squiggles, scribbles, and scalloped lines in shades of brown and black-brown. Interestingly and even strange, given that the moth has been known for about 300 years, the white witch’s caterpillar has not been described. Biologists think he eats legumes.
#5: Crimson Speckled
This little moth of the Erebidae family is also called the crimson speckled flunkey, and when it folds its wings, it positively looks candy-colored. The narrow forewings are white or cream with red and black spots. There are yellow dots near the head. When it opens its wings to fly, the hindwings are white with black bands on the edges and a black squiggle in the center of the wing. Like other types of colorful moths, this color warns predators that the insect tastes bad. The crimson speckled has a wingspan of 1.14 to 1.65 inches and is found in Europe, in the north Africaand Central Asia in dry meadows, parks and scrub.
#4: The Basker
This moth, whose species name is Euchromia lethe is a member of the arctiinae subfamily and is one of the species of moths that mimic bees or wasps. Its beauty comes from its black wings with “diamonds” of orange and white, with blue spots in between. The moth’s body is surrounded by orange, red, white, black and a metallic blue, and its head has a blue spot. There is also a bright red collar around the ‘neck’. The basker has a wingspan of 1.5 to 2 inches and can be found in West Africa, including the Congo Basin. It is also found in Madagascar.
#3: Great Agarista
Another of the world’s most beautiful moths, this moth is also known as the Joseph’s fur moth because of its many colors. Found in Australia, it has black wings with stripes and spots and bands of yellow, white, blue and red. Its hind wings are lined with white, and the thorax, that segment between the head and abdomen, is yellow. It also appears to wear a “cape” of white or cream, and the blue in its wings has a metallic sheen to it. The wingspan is between 2.5 and 2.75 inches. The great agarista is also a rare day-flying moth, and its caterpillar feeds on types of wild vines.
#2: Diva Mot
The genus of one of the most beautiful moths, divana was only founded in 1982. There is only one kind, divana-diva, and four subspecies. Found in South and Central America, it is a medium-sized moth with a wingspan of 2.5 to 3.75 inches. The hindwings have orange edges with black edges. A black band separates the orange from an area of luscious metallic purple. The tips of the forewings are slightly curved and tan with a band of yellow and irregular white spots that make the wings resemble a dead leaf. However, predators are startled when the moth opens its wings and presents the vibrant colors of the hind wings. Other facts about the moth’s life are still unknown. The caterpillar or even what it eats has not been described.
#1: Luna Mot
One of the most beautiful moths on Earth, the luna moth lives so short, a week at most, that it doesn’t even bother to eat. It’s all about mating, laying eggs and making more luna moths. It is a large moth, with a wingspan of 3 to 4.25 inches. Its wings are luminous pale lime green or blue green. The forewings have a brown margin and an eye spot is attached to them by a brown band. There are also eye spots on the hindwings, which are scalloped and have beautiful long tails that aid in the identification of this moth. The body is thick and covered with pale fur. Luna moth males and females look similar, although the male has fuzzier antennae. The caterpillar feeds on a variety of deciduous trees, including sweetgun, alder and birch.
The lunamot, species name Actias luna is common in the United States and Mexico but is rare in the south Canada. It belongs to the Saturniidae family, the family of the giant silkworm moths. A similar moth, the Indian moon moth, is found in China and Southeast Asia.
Next one: Fear of butterflies: what is it called and why are some people afraid of butterflies?
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