''Eudocima salaminia'', the green fruit-piercing moth, is a

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 ...

of 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 ...

. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. It is found from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and across south-east Asia to the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

it occurs in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. The adult is a fruit piercer.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is about 80–104 mm. Palpi with second joint very short and non-spatulate. Forewings with straight outer margin. Cilia non-crenulate. Head and collar plum fruit colored. Thorax greenish with tufts on metathorax. Abdomen orange. Forewings are golden greenish. A broad cream-colored costal fascia runs from near base of inner margin to apex, striated with pale red and turning to green at costa. There is a creamy marginal band as well. A curved red streak found below vein 2. Hindwings orange with large black lunule beyond lower angle of cell. A black marginal band with cilia whitish spots runs from costa to vein 2. Ventral side of forewings fuscous, with orange at base. Broad whitish postmedial band not reaching costa or inner margin. Cilia whitish. Larva dark purplish grey with a few whitish specks. Somites 4th to 6th with small yellowish sub-dorsal spots, beneath which on 5th and 6th somites is a red-ringed black ocellus with whitish pupil. 11th somite is with a conical reddish dorsal tubercle. Late instar is olive brown with dark specks. A pale lateral fascia found on medial somites and purplish fascia from tubercle to last abdominal segment.

Gallery

File:MaenasSalaminia12-3-l.jpg, Caterpillar File:Eudocima salaminia female dorsal.jpg, Female, dorsal view File:Eudocima salaminia female ventral.jpg, Female, ventral view File:Eudocima salaminia male dorsal.jpg, Male, dorsal view File:Eudocima salaminia male ventral.jpg, Male, ventral view

References

External links

Effects of temperature on development and seasonality of ''Eudocima salaminia''
Eudocima Moths of Asia Moths of Japan Moths described in 1777 {{Calpinae-stub