Pacific fruit-piercing moth

Description:

A beautiful leaf-mimicking moth of the genus Eudocima. Perhaps E. fullonia, a widespread tropical pest species native to the Indo-Malaysian region, and widespread throughout the Pacific basin, Asia, and Africa. (see map at http://www.plantwise.org/default.aspx?si... ).

Habitat:

This moth spotted in the early morning on the open porch/terrace of a house in a coastal village, and was no doubt attracted during the previous night by the porch light. Surrounding habitats included sea coast, disturbed mixed sago-freshwater swamp forest and a forested limestone ridge.

Notes:

The Pacific fruit-piercing moth attacks many fruit and vegetable crops. For most moth and butterfly pests, the caterpillars are the damaging stage. The Pacific fruit-piercing moth differs in this aspect because it is the adult moth that is the damaging stage, and the larvae are essentially not harmful. http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/crop... See an image of Eudocima fullonia here http://www.ausinsales.com/Noctuidae/Othr... See another Eudocima sp from Papua here http://www.flickr.com/photos/thirnbeck/4...