Small colorful moth, Nosy Mangabe, Madagascar

Terrible photo, but I'm hoping to discover which species this is.

comments (16)

Annette Flottwell

Lion

oh, this really reminds me of a Malaysian moth.. let me look! Posted 9 years ago

Annette Flottwell

Lion

it might be a cousin of this one:
http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_tigermoths/OrangeSpotted2.htm
and I think you are right, definitely pretty and interesting enough to ID it :)
or what do you think of these
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asura_%28moth%29 Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you so much for the help. In particular that Asure link looks promising. It is hard to cross check it with known moths in Madagascar though, or better said, it's a long list:
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_moths_of_Madagascar Posted 9 years ago

RMFelix

Lion

Check this record: http://www.africanmoths.com/pages/EREBIDAE/ARCTIINAE/arctiinae/thyrosticta%20sylvicolens.html but I didn't found cross check for this ID. (SPECIES IN GENUS - 24!) Hope it help, cheers* Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  That looks like a close match. Strangely, that entire genus isn't even on this list:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_moths_of_Madagascar Posted 9 years ago
2. 1. RMFelix
    
    Lion
    
    Yep, and i've checked the list of synonyms and found nothing that could led me into a specific conclusion, too. I'll check on inaturalist and EOL. Cheers* Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Pretty typical in Madagascar, outside of lemurs, almost nothing is properly described, not online at least. Sometimes the process just stops, the information is simply not available. I've learned to accept it, although I obsess over species identification. Posted 9 years ago
    2. 1. RMFelix
        
        Lion
        
        Well, the Genus Thyrosticta is confirmed for Madagascar, they are quoted on several natural lists, like http://insecta.pro/taxonomy/31656.
        
        Subsequent species are not online, exception made on my upper link, or this one http://www.afromoths.net/species/show/27539,
        
        and here on a personal site https://www.flickr.com/photos/grandma-shirley/3186100520.
        
        Most probably the systematic collection is on the museum arquives and not yet ready to be shared online. By the way, they were Arctiidae, but now are Family Erebidae (Arctiini - Erebid moths), sub-family Arctiinae.
        
        This is why lepidoptera are so fascinating... they contain more than 200.000 species described, being almost 90% of them Heterocera moths. And if we think in micro-lepidoptera, well, it never ends. But records such has the one you take are very important. A few months ago talking to a friend that was in tropics, he told me that if you set a light trap in those areas it will be most certain that a few dozen specimens will be subject for study, a few more new to science. The fascination for identification, in my case too, is a way to go a little bit further on their understanding. And so on, and so on... Cheers* Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago
      2. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        "A few months ago talking to a friend that was in tropics, he told me that if you set a light trap in those areas it will be most certain that a few dozen specimens will be subject for study, a few more new to science."
        
        Definitely true, I saw a few of those traps used by scientists in the forests of Madagascar. I also once saw a documentary of scientists using a white sheet in Papua New Guinea, which attracted hundreds of spectacular moth species, many new. Posted 9 years ago

aestheticallypleasing

Green Fly

Hi fchristiant! I believe the moth you are looking for is the cream spotted tiger moth, indigenous to europe, north africa, and southwest asia.
Cream-spot Tiger
Epicallia villica
Scientific classification;
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Arctiidae
Genus: Epicallia
Species: E. villica
Binomial name: Epicallia villica
Posted 9 years ago
1. WildFlower
  
  Lion
  
  I don't think so, this one has fewer spots. Posted 9 years ago

WildFlower

Lion

I think I've found a good candidate - Dubianaclia severina
http://www.afromoths.net/species/show/27403
although this one is similar too - Dubianaclia butleri
http://www.afromoths.net/species/show/27398 Posted 9 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Very impressive! Visually, Dubianaclia butleri looks closest to me. It has better defined yellow spots, but that could also be due to how the photos were taken. Posted 9 years ago
2. 1. WildFlower
    
    Lion
    
    The shape of the forewings is different, I think this one has the shape of Dubianaclia severina. The tornus is closer to the base of the forewings in Dubianaclia butleri while here it is more in the middle as in Dubianaclia severina. Posted 9 years ago
  2. WildFlower
    
    Lion
    
    One must read all the details. I don't know why they have done it this way - it is confusing. In the table it says that Dubianaclia severina is a synonym of Dubianaclia butleri... Posted 9 years ago
  3. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Thanks as always! Posted 9 years ago