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Geometrid Moth

Iotaphora iridicolor

Photo by SukanyaDatta
Published on Project Noah
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27.33, 88.62

Field Notes

Description:

Exquisitely patterned. I cannot describe the shades and hues. Beyond me...still marvelling.

Habitat:

It came and sat on me...I carefully encouraged it to sit on my hand and the let it fly away. I saw these moths at least once every evening...at different spots...wall, floor, shrubs...at the resort I stayed in at Village Borong. Sikkim. Pretty sparsely populated unspoilt hilly area.

Notes:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/77436133@N03/7232376624
We called it Alpana moth. Alpana is a design(s) drawn on the floor for festive occasions using rice-paste suspended in water...these days poster colours are also used.

Reference Links:

iNaturalist.org · Iotaphora iridicolor

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)
SukanyaDatta
Thanks dandoucette. I was so thrilled to see this moth and imagine my joy when it actually settled on my palm.
SukanyaDatta
Thank you, Dr Sherpa...we were told about the hot spring but we did not go anywhere...just lazed at the Club 8000 Brang Mountain Resort. I remember seeing your photo of this moth on PN...it rained on the last two days and there were few moths. but we saw many nice ones..apart from the leeches (3 got me) it was all good. Thank you. You are lucky to live in Sikkim; lovely state.
DrNamgyalTSherpa
The other day I was typing something here but the line went conk! Nice to know that you were around and spotted this jewel in a place called Borong. Yes, that's a remote village in South Sikkim. The place's famous for the hottest hot water spring in this region.

Spotted for Missions

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Butterflies & Moths of the World
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Moths of the World
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IndianMoths
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2015 Best Wildlife Photo

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Photographed
PublishedOctober 30, 2015

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