Chrysiridia rhipheus
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| iMadagascan Sunset Moth | ||||||||||||||||
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| Chrysiridia rhipheus (Hübner, 1833), (Cramer, 1782) (Drury, 1773, originally Papilio rhipheus) |
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 Contained in Madagascar
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The Madagascan Sunset Moth, or simply Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus also known as Urania rhipheus and Chrysiridia rhiphaeus[1]) is a moth of the Uraniidae family. It is black with iridescent red, blue and green markings. The iridescent parts of the wings do not have pigment, the color originates from refraction of light by the scales covering the moth’s wings. This characteristic makes it a common subject of optical sciences.
This moth is often considered as one of the most impressive and beautiful Lepidoptera. It was known by Victorians who used its wings to make jewellery.[2][3]
Unlike most moths the Sunset Moth is day flying while most moths are active at night. Its caterpillar is yellow with black spots and is covered in club-ended hair. It feeds on species of Omphalea and Endospermum genus, both Euphorbiaceae.[4] The caterpillar pupates in a cocoon on the ground unlike most other moth caterpillars which stay on plants. [3][5]
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[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "Import Health Standard for the Importation of Tropical Butterfly and Moth Pupae into New Zealand" in "Biosecurity New Zealand". Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ^ Urania ripheus page in "Newman Art Desings". Retrieved October 24, 2006.
- ^ a b Carter, David (2000). Butterflies and Moths (Eyewitness Handbook). Dorling Kindersley Publishing. ISBN 1-56458-062-8.
- ^ Lees, David and Neal Smith (1991) "Foodplant of the Uraniinae (Uraniidae) and their Systematic, Evolutionary and Ecological Significance" or an OCR of the pdf document. In Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, vol. 45. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ (French) Chrysiridia rhipheus page in "Insectarium de Montréal". Retrieved October 29, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Nature's Iridescence, An Electron Microscopic Study Contains pictures of the Sunset Moth’s green iridescent scales.
- God of Insects Sunset Moth picture, (underside in top of the picture top view in the bottom)
- WildMadagascar.org Two photos of a wild Sunset Moth.
