Erebus ephesperis returns

Saw this Erebus moth outside my apartment yesterday.

Another moth that I see frequently in my garden is Hulodes caranae

Death-head Hawk Moth

Name : Acherontia lachesis (Fabricius, 1798)
Family : SPHINGIDAE Latreille, 1802
Subfamily : Sphinginae Latreille, [1802]
Tribe : Acherontiini Boisduval, [1875]
Larva host plant :Clerodendrum paniculatum (Labiatae), Stachytarpheta indica (Verbenaceae)

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Life History Record :
- ?? ?? ????: Larva from Fraser’s Hill, feeds on Clerodendrum sp.
- 11 Jan 2012 : Larva from Lyndi Whye, feeds on variegated Stachytarpheta indica

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Date : Jan 2011
Location : Namly Avenue, Bukit Timah, Singapore.
Host Plant : Stachytarpheta indica (Verbenaceae)

5th instar:

Pre-pupa:

Just pupated:

Pupa:

Pupation period : 18 days.

Adult:

Another moth in my garden - Filodes fulvidorsalis

Saw another moth in my garden a few days ago. 
This is one of those small moths that I used to ignore.  However since I developed an interest in moths, I now take note of all the moths I find in my garden. 

Filodes fulvidorsalis : Crambidae, Spilomelinae

First new species for 2010 !

This morning a Plain Tiger circled around my garden and eventually landed on my Heliotropium indicum bush ! 

This is the first new species for my garden in 2010 and this is also a species that I wanted to have in my garden.  

 
By now 11 species of butterflies have visited by garden on the 6th floor !

When I moved to my new place about 1.5yrs ago, I wanted my garden to attract butterflies. Specifically, I wanted the following butterflies to visit my garden :

- Common Birdwing
- Lime Butterfly
- Common Mormon
- Painted Jezebel
- Plain Tiger
- Common Tiger
- Blue and Dark Glassy Tiger
- Peacock Royal

I planted a lot of butterfly larva and nectar plants and 1.5 years later all the above butterflies except Common Birdwing, Common Mormong and Common Tiger have shown their presence.  (Isn’t it funny all three have name that starts with ‘Common’).
My Aristolochia tagala vine has started growing and I am hoping I will get to see Common Birdwing around my garden in 2010.

Aristolochia tagala and Tylophora sp

Just now while having my dinner in my balcony a tiger moth (Dysphania sp) flew pass me and landed on a flower !  I immediately went to get my camera and took a few shots.  The moth turned out to be Dysphania glaucescen, a geometrid moth, one which I have not photographed before.

 
Moths from this subfamily are day flying and can be seen around flowering plants during the day.

You can see photo of other Tiger moths from Singapore and Malaysia in my Dysphania Flickr album.

What a good start for 2010

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See also :
- Two new species spotted in my garden.
- Gan’s garden butterfly list.

A large moth in my living room !

A large moth just landed in my living room !

It is Erebus ephesperis ( we call it Mee Rebus moth ;-D ) from the Noctuidae family.  This is the 3rd largest moth in Singapore, the other 2 being the Atlas moth (Attacas Atlas) and Lyssa moth (Lyssa zampa).