The newly created Noklak district had a new visitor. An endangered Madagascan moon moth was spotted during the dedicatory programme of the newly constructed deputy commissioner’s office chamber on Friday, an official release said today.
The Madagascan moon moth is native to the rain forest of Madagascar. Although endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, it has been bred in captivity.
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The male moon moth has a wingspan of 20 cm and a tail span of 15 cm, making it one of the world’s largest silk moths. The female lays 120 to 170 eggs, and after hatching, the larvae feed for approximately two months before pupating.
The cocoon has numerous holes to keep the pupa from drowning in the daily rains of natural habitat. The adult moths cannot feed and only lives for four to five days.
Madagascan moon moth is one of the beautiful lepidopterans. It is nocturnal and does not fly in day time.
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Male and female moths can be easily distinguished. While females have broader and rounder wings and much shorter tail and males wear long and plumose ones.
Like all insects, Madagascan moon moth has a lot of natural enemies like chameleons, birds etc. Only only a few individual moths succeed in passing a long way to the adult moth.
Medagascan moon moths are spotted occasionally in the Indo-Myanmar region having a large forested area and rich biodiversity of flora and fauna.