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Dysphania subrepleta is a day-flying moth which I found drinking from the ground
just like some butterflies (especially Papilionids and Pierids) have the habit
of doing. The striking blue-and-yellow colour combination is possibly a
sign that this species is poisonous.
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The same specimen of D. subrepleta
as above. This shot shows the bright yellow body marked
with blue bands. This species of moth could be easily mistaken for the Burnet Moth, Psaphis
euschemoides, of the family Zygaenidae as it has similar wing markings.
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This is a another
Dysphania sp., possibly sagana. Its wing pattern is different from that of
subrepleta although it has the same blue and yellow colours. There are far fewer blue
spots on this specimen. This photo was taken at the same locality but on a different occasion.
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Dysphania malayanus is a nocturnal moth (it flies at night). This one was
probably a sick or injured
specimen that I found one morning on grass-covered ground near a forest. It did not bother
to fly away until I prodded it with a finger.
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This larva
of a Geometrid moth may look like a twig or bud to the casual observer as it sticks
out at an angle to a real twig. This is possibly a form of mimicry employed by the caterpillar
to disguise itself and avoid the attention of predators.
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Milionia basalis is a day-flying moth of medium size;
it has a wingspan of about 5-6cm (2-2.5 inches).
The caterpillars feed on the leaves of some native coniferous trees that grow naturally at
high altitudes, and in the lowlands where they are cultivated.
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I photographed this
Milionia basalis in the Cameron Highlands. When it settled on
a marygold flower, I had then thought it was a butterfly. With its striking colours and
the fact that it was flying in broad daylight, it was easy to mistake this moth for a butterfly.
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Euxena albiguttata belongs to a group commonly known as the Emerald Moths.
Their attractive green colour often fades to a dull yellow after death. Euxena
albiguttata is found in Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Java and Sulawesi.
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This subtly coloured moth looks like
Celerena
signata which has very similar light brown wing markings. It could be an old
and faded specimen. While the ground colour of this specimen
is off-white, that of C. signata is bright yellow as seen in mounted specimens.
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There are more than a dozen species of Eumelea with colour ranging from yellow
to orange and red. This one looks like rosalia, a fairly common moth encountered
in secondary growth. E. rosalia is found
in the tropical parts of the Indo-Australian region.
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