Red Costate Tiger Moth

Description:

Erebidae; Arctiinae; Aloa; A. lactinea (Cramer, 1777) This is a beautiful white moth which could be mistaken for a Hawk Moth because of the swept back wing position when at rest. The main features are the heavy black spots on the wings and the thin red marginal stripes along the leading edges of the front wings. There are some prominent black spots on the underside of the abdomen if the angle of view allows.

Habitat:

This moth was spotted in our front yard on the ground. My impression was that it had just eclosed. It was in pristine condition, very lethargic and obviously not yet ready to fly. I could not leave it there where we walk around as it could easily be crushed underfoot. So I picked it up as gently as possible and carried into the garden where i placed on some foliage. Now the question was where had it come from. It can't have crawled far. The answer wasn't too difficult as it had been on the ground only 2 feet away from a Red Currant Tree (Antidesma bunius), the base of which was surrounded by many Corazon de Maria Plants (Caladium bicolour). Over the years, many moths (mainly Sphingids, but others also) had pupated their.