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richardlbong
23-Jul-2006, 07:45 PM
Found this unusual moth whose behavior is very peculiar. Whenever startled, it darts under a leaf with wings folded like a Purple Duke. Perhaps our moth experts can help to ID this?
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/digimania/Moth/moth5.jpg
Richard

hkmoths
24-Jul-2006, 09:46 PM
Noctuidae / Erebidae (depending upon your taxonomic bent!)
Catocalinae
Can't get further than that, as I only know of a couple of genera that have this sort of resting posture in HK, and your photo isn't of one of them! Nor does it help that so few species of moth are illustrated from the ventral view.

cheers,

Roger.

richardlbong
24-Jul-2006, 11:08 PM
Thank you Roger. You're certainly very knowledgablein this field.
Richard

hkmoths
25-Jul-2006, 11:07 PM
Richard - everything is relative. I'm still learning, even after 15 years moth recording, six of which were spent learning the HK fauna for my Ph.D. Trouble is, the more I find out, the less I think I really know :hmmm: :mad2:

cheers, :cheers:

Roger

richardlbong
26-Jul-2006, 09:40 PM
Thank you Roger, I only started shooting butterflies about 5 years ago, and I feel I've still a long way to go in this field.
Richard