NL·0679Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Argema mittrei
- Family
- Saturniidae
- Native to
- Endemic to the rainforests of Madagascar
- Habitat
- Tropical rainforest
Comet moth
Argema mittrei
Also calledMadagascan moon moth (English) · Lolo (Malagasy, for moths generally)
A huge yellow silk moth from Madagascar's rainforests whose male trails hindwing tails up to about 15 cm long. Adults cannot feed and live only a few days.
The comet moth or Madagascan moon moth is a moth native to the rain forests of Madagascar. The species was first described by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1847. The adult moth cannot feed and only lives for 4 to 5 days. Although endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, the comet moth has been bred in captivity. The genus name Argema is Greek for "speckled eye" referencing the abundance of eyespots on their wings, warding off predators. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iMale has one of the longest tails of any moth, about 15 cm
- iiSpins a silver cocoon pierced with holes that let rainwater drain away
- iiiAdults lack working mouthparts and survive on caterpillar reserves
In the field
Field marks
- aBright yellow wings
- bOne brown eyespot on each wing
- cVery long hindwing tails tipped with red-brown in males (shorter, broader in females)
- dReddish-brown leading edge of the forewing
- Not to be confused with
- The African moon moth (Argema mimosae) of mainland Africa is greener with shorter tails.
- Where to see it
- Eastern rainforests such as Andasibe-Mantadia and Ranomafana; often displayed at butterfly houses from captive stock.
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Caterpillars eat leaves of native trees such as Eugenia and Weinmannia (and Eucalyptus in captivity); adults do not feed
- Habitat
- Humid evergreen rainforest
- Size
- Wingspan up to about 20 cm; male tails up to about 15 cm
- Lifespan
- Adults about 4–5 days
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Endemic to the rainforests of Madagascar
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Argema mittrei in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville described it in 1847 from Madagascar, originally as Bombyx mittrei.
Curiosity
Captive breeding means comet moths are regularly displayed in butterfly houses in Europe and North America, far from their Madagascan rainforests.
Kinship
Fact-checked: 3 corrections made to this sheet. Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 147151.