A visitor to my mother's garden

Actias selene - Indian moon moth.  (Picture taken by my mother)

Moments of magic that a little green and little calm bring into our lives.  My mother's garden is a little oasis for creatures in the neighbourhood.  A peacock rested here not so long ago, sunbirds are always busy in the creepers, babblers hop and babble as they shop for worms, and then today this beautiful moth emerged!

The wonders of Nature never cease to amaze me.  What beauty in a creature so ephemeral.  I learnt that these moths are silk spinners and they also have a life cycle that is evanescent and fleeting.

They emerge out of their silk cocoons without a mouth - their only job to mate.  It seems that they usually hatch mid morning, and wait for the sun to dry their wings, by nightfall they are ready to fly and find a mate, and in a week they are dead, having (hopefully) done their job of ensuring the survival of the species.

The pale green of its wings giving it a good camouflage, the wispy delicate tail, the little "moons" on its wings, pink legs, a white hairy body and the distinct red brown margin, all evident as it swayed in the light January breeze.

From descriptions, this particular one seems to be a female, less pink on the tail and antennae which are less stubby.  If so, she would be releasing pheromones tonight and attracting a male from as far away as four kms.

I will keep an eye on that hibiscus plant, for maybe just maybe there is a set of eggs that will be laid, and my mother's garden would have done its bit in helping this endangered species continue to thrive.

Indian moon moth videos, photos and facts