Another moth cat

[Painted Jezebel]

Found this little beauty halfway up the waterfall trail. Delightful pattern and colouring, any idea of ID, and are the life stages fully recorded?

277

[hkmoths]

probably Noctuidae, Catocalinae, as the first pair of prolegs appears reduced (but could conceivably also be Hypeninae). I've no idea if anyone has reared this before - best to note everything!

cheers,

Roger

[Painted Jezebel]

Thanks Roger. Going back today, as the forest is where I'm finding all my new species, so I should be able to bag it. The foodplant is common, so I should have no trouble keeping it fed.

277

[Painted Jezebel]

Its pupated. It first span a very flimsy cocoon. As usual with cocoon spinners, it made it in a highly inconvenient place, this time attaching part to the netting on my cage, thereby preventing me from getting a clear photograph of it. Nevertheless, I attach one (nice shot of the netting!), which shows the orange bands on the pupa. Just hopes it ecloses.

277

[hkmoths]

Following this with interest. I'm expecting the next installment in a week to ten days!

cheers,

Roger.

[Painted Jezebel]

Following this with interest. I'm expecting the next installment in a week to ten days!.

11 days! Shame on you Roger, I'll never believe another word you say!:bsmile:

A very disappointing little moth, with grey hindwings. Interesting fluffy front legs though. Any remote chance of an ID?

[hkmoths]

This is our friend Anereuthina renosa again!

Noctuidae, Catocalinae.

The larva is described in Moths of Borneo (pt 15&16; not yet on-line).

cheers,

Roger.

[hkmoths]

11 days! Shame on you Roger, I'll never believe another word you say!:bsmile:

A very disappointing little moth, with grey hindwings. Interesting fluffy front legs though. Any remote chance of an ID?

Les - you must have been running the air con!

cheers,

Roger.

[Painted Jezebel]

Thanks for the ID, Roger. However, are you absolutely sure? (I hate to ask this) This moth is smaller than the pic I posted on the earlier thread, the colouration is different, and where are the dark forewing spots that were so prominent on the other pic? The shape of the antennae suggest to me that this is also a male as was the other photo. I post both pics again to ease comparison.

[hkmoths]

Hi Les,

Yes I'm sure.

What follows is the text from Holloway's part 15&16 (Noctuidae, Catocalinae) of Moths of Borneo:

Diagnosis. The forewings are approximately triangular, but with a rounded dorsum, a rich caramel brown that is variably and lightly traversed by pale mauve fasciation (sometimes barely evident). In the centre of the forewing at about two thirds there is usually a marking that may consist of two small black or fawn ellipses or a larger disc, emarginate anterobasally, again either black or fawn. The hindwings are duller brown, with a doubly shallowly excavate zone of the margin near the tornus where the fringes are paler.
...
Biology. ... larva.. head and body have a reticulate pattern of variably sized black rectangles in a pale grey matrix.... The pale grey is marked in orange in places, and there is more extensive orange in a saddle across A8, which is strongly humped, and A9.

i.e. it's a variable little so & so.

Note that "hand reared" larvae / pupae often result in smaller than typical adults. The darker colour would fit with being in an airconditioned environment - many species emerge with more melanin in response to cooler temperatures (this has been demonstrated for many species, and experiments on Helicoverpa armigera come straight to mind) from an artificial indoors environment, or a cooler outdoor environment (e.g. U.K. vs. north Africa).

cheers,

Roger.

[Painted Jezebel]

Thanks very much for clarifying.

By the way, I NEVER use the aircon in my house. I sometimes wonder why I paid to have it installed in the first place.