ISLAND CONSERVATION-ICS ranger discovers owl moth on Alphonse |03 March 2008
Seeing moths, beetles and even the occasional praying mantis right inside the house always
“It was the most beautiful moth – or butterfly, I wasn’t sure which – I had ever seen!” he recounted excitedly later. “Its head was pointing downwards, and in that position the wings reminded me of the feathery headgear of a North American Indian chief!”
Randolph’s partially impaired colour vision may not have allowed him to make out all the subtle shades of the dark brown wings with their cream stripes and, especially, the intricate “eye spots” on the front wings – but the striking patterns made it obvious that this was no ordinary insect. He resisted the temptation of fetching the camera from the Alphonse Island Conservation Centre to photograph the specimen straight away.
“I hoped it would still be around when I woke up the next morning, but it wasn’t,” he told me. “Had I known it was a new moth for Seychelles I would have gone to get the camera, no matter the time or weather. Later, I told my colleagues at the office about it, but they did not seem particularly impressed – I probably failed to describe it properly, or maybe few people are interested in insects anyway.”
Tragedy
When Randolph got home in the evening the moth was back, in almost exactly the same spot on the kitchen wall! But his momentary elation was to be followed by tragedy. “I admired it for a good moment before heading off to the shower. When I returned I could no longer see it on the wall. I looked around and there it was, lying helplessly in the kitchen sink. Half of its body was missing, presumably torn off by a hungry gecko or praying mantis. I left it under an overturned bowl on a chopping board, thinking that I would decide what to do with it in the morning. But when I got up I discovered that ants had got at it during the night.”
Still, Randolph had the presence of mind to retrieve the two front wings and single hind wing that were still intact. He took them to the conservation centre, run by the Island Conservation Society (ICS), and showed them to the Scientific Officer, Pierre-André Adam.
It was Pierre-André who informed me of Randolph’s discovery. I received an e-mail from him, with a photo attached, on the 8th of February: “Dear Pat, Randolph found this moth in his house last night. Unfortunately we cannot identify it. Could you assist us? Cheers.”
I peered at the photo on my computer screen. There was no mistaking those “eye spots” reminiscent of the wide-eyed stare of an owl – this could only be an owl moth! It was my turn now to be excited, because if the specimen belonged to the group of moths that I thought it did, it would be the first time such a moth had been found in Seychelles! But which species of owl moth was it exactly? I pulled out my books and scientific papers on moths and pored over descriptions and illustrations.
Creamy white stripes, strongly toothed lines… it had to be, yes, the cream-striped owl moth! I rushed back to my computer to e-mail the news to Pierre-André and Randolph. A few days later, turtle expert Jeanne Mortimer arrived from Alphonse with the specimen itself and I was able to examine it more closely to confirm my ID.
Obscurs frôlements
Known to scientists as Cyligramma latona, this species is found all over tropical Africa as well as in Madagascar and, apparently, even in Yemen. Little wonder that Randolph found it in his home: it is very readily attracted to lights and on the African continent it often ventures into houses, where it flutters about stealthily and rests on walls with its wings up, as if on the alert. A musician friend with whom I was discussing this told me the French poet Léon-Paul Fargue was thinking about similar behaviour by the European relatives of this insect, the owlet moths, when he wrote: « Les noctuelles des hangars partent, d’un vol gauche, cravater d’autres poutres » (“the owlet moths fly clumsily out of the barns and affix themselves to other beams…”), which then inspired the famous composer Maurice Ravel, best known for his Boléro, to compose Noctuelles as part of his Miroirs cycle: Bruissements furtifs et obscurs frôlements sont évoqués par des harmonies floues, des grappes de notes, des rythmes discontinus, des sonorités souvent indéfinissables…
In the wild the moth often feeds on the juice oozing from damaged overripe fruit, but in the home, in the words of the famous lepidopterist (butterfly and moth expert) Elliot Pinhey, it “is quite ready to imbibe alcoholic or sweet drinks, even from glass tumblers”.
The cream-striped owl moth is one of at least six species of owl moth found in Madagascar. There, these moths are sometimes held in superstitious awe. Renaud Paulian, who pioneered research on the fauna and flora of Madagascar, tells us that “…pour les Malgaches, (les) Cyligramma sont les esprits des morts…Peut-être tiennent-ils ce fâcheux renom de leurs habitudes, tout à la fois nocturnes et cachées…”
A more scientific consideration is this: Randolph’s find is the first record of the cream-striped owl moth in Seychelles; but was the moth there all along and had not been found? Or is it a new arrival? And, if so, has it become established, or was this a one-off stray or windblown specimen, perhaps from Madagascar or East Africa – or even from a passing vessel? In Africa, the caterpillars of the moth are said to feed on plants belonging to the genus, or group, Acacia. I have seen no record of any such plant growing naturally on Alphonse. But, who knows, perhaps there are other food plants waiting to be discovered. Something else for Randolph, Pierre-André and the other ICS staff on the island to watch out for!
by Pat Matyot