At around 9 o’clock on the night of June 24th, 2010, I found a large moth on a tile of the public corridor of our building. Its light brown colour well matched with that of the tile. Its size was about that of my palm.To know more about this kind of insects, I turn to Wikipedia:
Below are some extracts.
Moths are not easily differentiated from butterflies. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are crepuscular and diurnal species.
The study of butterflies and moths is known as lepidoptery, and biologists that specialize in either are called lepidopterists. As a pastime, watching butterflies and moths is known as butterflying and mothing. The latter has given rise to the term "mother" for someone who engages in this activity - sometimes written with a hyphen (moth-er) to distinguish it from its usual meaning.
Moths, and particularly their caterpillars, are a major agricultural pest in many parts of the world. The caterpillar of the gypsy moth causes severe damage to forests in the northeast United States, where it is an invasive species. In temperate climates, the codling moth causes extensive damage, especially to fruit farms. In tropical and subtropical climates, the diamondback moth is perhaps the most serious pest of brassicaceous crops.
Some moths are farmed. The most notable of these is the silkworm, the larva of the domesticated moth Bombyx mori. It is farmed for the silk with which it builds its cocoon. As of 2002, the silk industry produces over 130 million kilograms of raw silk, worth about 250 million U.S. dollars, each year. Not all silk is produced by Bombyx mori. There are several species of Saturniidae that are also farmed for their silk, such as the Ailanthus moth, the Chinese Oak Silkmoth, the Assam Silkmoth, and the Japanese Silk Moth.
Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights, although the reason for this behavior remains unknown. One hypothesis advanced to explain this behavior is that moths use a technique of celestial navigation called transverse orientation.
Nocturnal insectivores often feed on moths; these include some bats, some species of owls and other species of birds. Moths are also eaten by some species of lizards, cats, dogs, rodents, and some bears. Moth larvae are vulnerable to being parasitized by Ichneumonidae.
5 comments:
By the way, as a kid I was quite afraid of the big moths attaching to walls or ceilings. It is scary when all of the sudden they start to flap their wings at you and fly out. I was scared not only by their sudden motion, but also by the stories some adults told me -- that moths are some spirits in transfiguration. At that age I tend to believe them. :-)
I don't like moths because their brown colour looks as if they were old and dirty. When I hit them, their wings are usually crushed to powder.
To me, the sudden flapping of their wings do give me the feeling that it will spread dirt and powder everywhere. I dare not speak at that time. These moths usually fly around the lamps of the house, which disturb the silence at home because the ladies or children usually scream and flee.
Wow, this moth is extraordinary big and its wings are very specially shaped.
I probably saw one with similar size near the top right hand corner of the wall on the ground floor where the letter boxes are, at Shun Ying House, for two days during our stay in Hong Kong last month. The wall was not bright therefore its colour was also a bit darker. After seeing it for two days and it was not there on the third day.
I saw one lying dead on the road near City One this morning.The bottom part of one of the wings was lost. It might be that the moth had been run over by a vehicle.
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