''Cocytia'' is a genus of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwin ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

, being represented by the single species, ''Cocytia durvillii'', an uncommon day-flying moth found in lowland areas of the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...

, Aru, and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. The species has clear wings bordered with black, with an orange patch at the base of each forewing and long antennae, thicker at the outer end. Both the genus and species were first described by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société ento ...

in 1828.

Subspecies

*''Cocytia durvillii durvillii'' (Papua New Guinea) *''Cocytia durvillii chlorosoma'' Butler, 1875 (Aru) *''Cocytia durvillii aurantiaca'' Rothschild, 1897 (Tenimber) *''Cocytia durvillii ribbei'' Druce, 1884 (Aru) *''Cocytia durvillii veitschi'' Butler, 1884 (Batchian)

References

Cocytiini Moths described in 1828 Monotypic moth genera {{Cocytiini-stub