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Asota caricae
Spotted this beautiful tiger moth, at around 7:30PM, nectaring on Lantana camara flowers. Asota caricae (Fabricius, 1775), called Snouted Tiger Moth, of family Noctuidae, subfamily Aganainae. The caterpillars of this species start life as a pile of eggs laid on the leaf of a food plant. The female moth covers the pile of eggs with scales from her body. Initially the caterpillars are communal, and skeletonize the leaf. Later they separate and feed nocturnally. The adults have yellow forewings, each with a pale spot near the center, and some black dots near the base. The hindwings are a deeper yellow, and have a number of black spots. The body is yellow with a black mark on the top of each abdominal segment.
Backyard garden.
Reference: http://potokito-myshot.blogspot.com/2012...
2 Comments
Thanks Shekai. I was so glad it ignored me while I was taking the pics and just continued on circling the flowers while nectaring :) In doing so, it also showed me its underwings and bare abdomen :)
Night photography but still the colors are attractive.