I was lucky to see this moth (Naganoella timandra) because, firstly, it’s only about 26mm wide and keeps low down in the undergrowth, and, secondly, I’ve only seen this species twice; the other time it was in poor condition. Taken in Korea, May, 2014.
All comments welcome.
D7100 + 105mm macro. 1/100 f36 ISO 4500 Flash.
It probably got my usual Levels, Shadows and Highlights adjustments in PS. Recently I ran it through Topaz Denoise. Uncropped.
What an amazing creature!! Well captured! You have to wonder how nature came up with its dizzying array of designs.
Super! Both the find and the capture. Moths come in so many forms and so many are tiny. There’s one similar here in size and coloration although the pink and yellow are reversed in ratios and it usually holds its wings differently, but I felt the same way when I was able to get a decent shot after trying and failing for a while.
Could it be Dryocampa rubicunda, the Rosy Maple? I saw this beauty in NC in June, 2016.
Mike, this is an amazingly beautiful moth view, with its dramatic colors set off by all of the green.
It was actually Cenopis reticulatana - a reticulated fruitworm moth. Here’s a shot of it if you don’t mind me putting a photo in your thread. If you do I’ll take it off, no worries at all. It’s 1/2 an inch long or about 1.5 cm. Now I look at it, the pink is a bit on the brown side.
Put as many photos on my thread as you like, Kris. This is a very attractive moth and good shot of it, so thanks for the info!
Many thanks @Kris_Smith , @Mark_Seaver and @Diane_Miller for your kind comments. I do love this moth - so it’s good to know others find it pleasing too.
So many thing to love about this image, Mike. The colors, detail and mostly, at least for me, I love the repetitive pattern in the leaves and on the back of the moth. Just lovely.
Indeed, Mike. With higher than normal temperatures and lower than normal rain fall we have had little to no insect activity. No frogs, grasshoppers, bees, flies, butterflies . . .not even mosquitos! So, not only are your images a delight to my eyes, I am quite envious of the variety of plant life, insects and birds you have there in Korea. Wonderful.
I suppose I should be grateful for the mosquitos, @linda_mellor! Seriously, though, Korea like everywhere else is experiencing many climate change effects. One which is very apparent this year in my neck of the woods is that a few of the most common butterfly species have proliferated, while the rarities seem to be more rare than ever (this moth for example was seen 8 years ago). At least this country has over 60% tree cover, which helps alleviate the effects of all the “development” going on, but the wider effects of the changing climate are far harder to control or even to understand properly.
