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Madagascan Sunset Moth

rare

Madagascan Sunset Moth

Chrysiridia rhipheus

Habitat
Madagascan forests, on Omphalea vines
Wingspan
80 mm
Order
Lepidoptera · Uraniidae

Weird but real

Day-flying moth that looks like a butterfly. Wings have no pigment; their iridescent rainbow comes from microscopic ridges that diffract light.

Why it's cool

Structural color, not paint. The same physics that makes oil slicks rainbow makes this moth rainbow. Once considered the most beautiful insect on Earth, traded as Victorian jewelry.

Photographs

Präparat eines Chrysiridia rhipheus, Regenbogenfalter oder Madagaskar-Sonnenuntergangsmotte.
Petwoe · CC BY 4.0 · source
The Madagascar moth Chrysiridia rhipheus (Drury, 1773) (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae). Photograph taken in Masoala National Park, Maroantsetra, Toamasina (November 28, 2018).
Zyskowski, Kristof · CC BY 4.0 · source