Chrysiridia rhipheus: Difference between revisions
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| name = Madagascan Sunset Moth |
| name = Madagascan Sunset Moth |
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| image = Urania riphaeus engraving.jpg |
| image = Urania riphaeus engraving.jpg |
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| image_caption = Engraving of [[1869]] |
| image_caption = Engraving of [[1869]] ''Urania riphaeus'' |
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| image_width = 250px |
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| regnum = [[Animal]]ia |
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia |
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Revision as of 14:02, 10 January 2007
| Madagascan Sunset Moth | |
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| Engraving of 1869 captioned Urania riphaeus | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Phylum: | |
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| Subfamily: | Uraniinae Blanchard, 1845
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| Genus: | Chrysiridia Hübner, 1823
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| Species: | C. rhipheus
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| Binomial name | |
| Chrysiridia rhipheus | |
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| Contained in Madagascar | |
| Synonyms | |
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Urania rhipheus | |
The Madagascan Sunset Moth, or simply Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus also known as Urania rhipheus, U. rhiphaeus[1], C. rhiphaeus[2], and C. madagascariensis[1]) is a moth of the Uraniidae family.
Native Malagasy people call it Adriandolo or Lolonandriana ; meaning noble butterfly[1], or noble spirit[3].
Description
C. rhipheus has a wingspan of 7,5 to 9 cm (3 to 3 1/2 inches)[4]. 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.[5][6]
Habits
The Sunset Moth is day flying while most moths are active at night.
Range
Chrysiridia rhipheus is endemic to Madagascar, its range goes from the eastern forest to the plateaux.
Life cycle
Caterpillar
Its caterpillar is yellow with black spots and is covered in club-ended hair.
Pupa
The caterpillar pupates in a cocoon on the ground unlike most other moth caterpillars which stay on plants. [6][7]
Host plants
It feeds on species of Omphalea and Endospermum genus, both Euphorbiaceae[8]. Causing the caterpillar, the pupa and the moth to become poisonous.
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e Template:Fr Decary, Raymond (1950). La Faune Malgache. Payot Paris.
- ^ a b "Import Health Standard for the Importation of Tropical Butterfly and Moth Pupae into New Zealand" in "Biosecurity New Zealand". Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ^ Dispatches from the Vanishing World Our Far Flung Correspondents (Madagascar), Page 2. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
- ^ The Sunset Moth (Urania riphaeus) on ButterflyUtopia.com. Retrieved December 23, 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.
- ^ Template:Fr Chrysiridia rhipheus page in "Insectarium de Montréal". Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ 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.
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.