Hobbies And Interests
Uraniidae
The moths of the Uraniidae family are often mistaken for butterflies because of their large and spectacularly colorful wings. They also fly during the day, like the classic butterfly. The only thing that might identify them as moths are their hairy and robust bodies. The zodiac moth has beautiful pink, black and gold iridescent wings with a silvery fringe. The iridescence is even matched on the body. It visits flowers during the day, and at night it can be found high in the forest canopy of Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The Madagascan sunset moth looks like a giant swallowtail, though its hind wings have many tails on the edges. It has the same wingspan as the zodiac moth, and its wings are so beautiful the moth was used as jewelry during the Victorian Era, which nearly led to its extinction. It's confined to Madagascar.
Geometridae
Geometridae are a large family of smallish moths that are usually fairly drab. In some species the female doesn't have wings, or the wings are so tiny that she can't fly. The hoop pine moth is found in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and is unusual because of the iridescent blue and red areas on its black wings. It has a 1 1/2- to 2-inch wingspan, and only the female collects nectar. The male feeds on rotting animal and vegetable matter it finds on the ground.
Sphingidae
The hawk moths are strong fliers and excellent feeders. Some can reach speeds up to 30 mph. Their tongues are well developed and long enough to take nectar from even deep-throated flowers. Indeed, some of them resemble hummingbirds or bees. They can often be seen hovering over flowers in gardens. The death's head hawk moth has the distinctive death's head in the center of its back, but it's harmless to humans, whose flowers it pollinates. It's not so beneficial to bees. The death's head moth's tongue is so sharp that it can pierce the walls of a hive to get to the honey inside. It has a 4- to 5-inch wingspan and is found in the Mediterranean and north Africa. It migrates to Europe. Morgan's sphinx has a 4- to 5 1/4-inch wingspan and yellow brown coloration, though there are tiny white markings on the forewings. Its tongue is so long that it can feed from long slender orchids like Angraecum sesquipedale in the tropical forests of Africa where it lives.
Sesiidae
Sesiidae moths live around the world. Many of them mimic wasps, sometimes to the point where they make a buzzing sound when they fly. Species include the hornet moth from Europe and temperate Asia. It has a 1 1/4- to 1 3/4-inch wingspan and even has wasp-like bands on its abdomen and clear wings. The golden clearwing, which is about the same size, is found in Australia. Both the hornet and golden clearwing moths fly in the daytime, when they visit flowers to gather nectar.