Zodiac Moth
This insect is no fly by night
…Do not all charms fly/At the mere touch of cold philosophy?
John Keats, Lamia, 1819
Not all moths are creatures of the night. I photographed this Zodiac Moth (Alcides metaurus, Uraniidae) mid-morning, as it rested on a leaf. Other Zodiac Moths fluttered around the white flowers high in the Cadaghi (Corymbia torelliana, Myrtaceae), jinking around bees, beetles, and birds, all drawn to the trees for pollen and nectar.
Uraniid moths are found in the tropics worldwide. Not all diurnal, and not all are brightly coloured, but those in the genus Alcides are both. They share a common pattern: on the upper wings, midnight black encloses bands of an iridescence that shifts ceaselessly between yellow, pink, and green. The colours are not the result of pigments, but are created by an optical trick: the refraction of sunlight through microscopic layers on the wing scales. The colours exist fleetingly and look different for each observer.
Whenever I see these big shimmering moths, I stop to watch them. Whether they are dancing around flowers or sunning themselves, they are enchanting and captivating, and they inspire awe.
But I also think of John Keats’ poem Lamia:
There was an awful rainbow once in heaven:
