Cirrhochrista grabczewskyi, Ivoloina park, Madagascar

An extraordinarily well defined moth. Most definitely Cirrhochrista sp. and within that genus, this by far comes closest:
http://www.afromoths.net/species/show/13558

The only doubt/problem is one little detail in the wings. Note the jagged tooth-like line in the middle of the wing on my pic, versus the straight thick line on that reference.

comments (9)

Christine Young

Lion

Awesome job on the ID! What a gorgeous moth!

Did you see this:
https://www.insecte.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=153240

It seems that Cirrhochrista grabczewskyi/oxyalis/convoluta were being considered.

I can't find any sources (that I know to be reputable) with convincing evidence for the species-level ID. So, Cirrhochrista mulleralis may be correct, but I can't find any photos of it with the "heartbeat" squiggles on the lower part of the wings. Posted 3 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Super useful thread, that looks like a breakthrough!
  
  Heartbeat is such a nice way to describe the pattern and it looks like the species you suggest has it:
  http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=403058
  (scroll down and click the left photo)
  
  Only reservations that one person in that forum does not trust the BOLD assessment, but for now I'll take the risk of being just as correct/incorrect as BOLD. I think this is the only documentation out there.
  
  Thanks so much! Posted 3 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    I saw that as well - that one person who questioned BOLD...And, then also wondered if that doubter was an expert or could be equally incorrect, haha. There's not much documentation online though, and I agree with your assessment. Posted 3 years ago

Lisa Kimmerling

Lion

Holy wow!! :o That pattern! Posted 3 years ago

Paul Dirksen

Lion

To be honest with you Ferdy, I like all the foto's of your moths. Posted 3 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks so much. Have you ever considered giving it a try yourself?
  
  How fun this is to me is also a fairly recent discovery, before that I was completely ignorant about moths, and hardly interested in them. Now, I'm like an addict. The appeal is of course the beauty and diversity, but also how it is relatively easy to do. Posted 3 years ago
2. 1. Paul Dirksen
    
    Lion
    
    Well, at the moment we have to wait till the weather is getting better, I can give it a try in Greece next may.
    Posted 3 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      That would be wonderful! Some community members annually participate in Moth Week, which is usually organized around July. Previous editions:
      
      Moth Week 2019
      
      https://www.jungledragon.com/tag/47411/recent Posted 3 years ago

YingYang

Green Fly

What an awesome looking (patterned) moth. Posted 2 years ago

The Cirrhochrista grabczewskyi

''Cirrhochrista grabczewskyi'' is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is found in subtropical Africa from Senegal to Kenya, and is also known from Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Info 1 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Ferdy Christant