Brahmin Beauties

Do you know the difference between moths and butterflies?  Other than their name, of course.  Most moths have feathered or rough edge antennae while a butterfly's antenna is smooth and club or hook shaped.  Moths have a device called a frenulum that joins the forewing to the hind wing while butterflies do not.  Butterflies are most active during the day, but you see moths mostly at night and they are sometimes attracted to lights, hence the phrase 'like moths to a flame'.  There are also many more species of moths than butterflies as moths make up almost 95 percent of the Lepidoptera order to which both belong.  And, generally speaking, moths might be considered the plain Jane cousins of butterflies as they are not as brightly colored.  However, as more species of both moths and butterflies are being discovered and studied, the line between the two is becoming more blurred.  One fabulous example of more intricately 'decorated' moths are the Brahmin moths.

I am fascinated by the beautiful and elaborate pattern of stripes and spots, along with the colors, of these moths that reminds me of inlaid wood.  There are several species in the Brahmaea family.  Found in India and southeast Asia, they can have a wingspan of 6 inches or more. 

Brahmaea wallichii   Source:  Wikipedia

Brahmaea hearseyi   Source:  Wikipedia

This species (above) prefers a montane forest habitat and its common name is the Indonesian owl moth.

Brahmaea japonica   Source:  Wikipedia

 

You can especially see in this photo how their coloring works so well as camouflage.  This species (above) is also known as the Japanese owl moth; it is found only in Japan.

 

The European Owl Moth is only found in mountainous areas of southern Italy.
 

Acanthobrahmaea europaea   Photo by E. Stella  Source:  University of Rome

They are little Brahmin beauties!  Madagascar has some incredible looking moths too.  For more on them, click here.