Erebid Moth

Description:

Erebidae; Erebinae; Gesonia sp. Gesonia is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae erected by Francis Walker in 1859. I love this kind of moth because of the intricacy of detail and fine markings on the wings, but describing it properly is a job for professionals. With some Erebinae specimens, like this one, when I search my favourite websites for an I.D. I discover that even the websites do not have an example of the species. So I see numerous spp. Then I find myself comparing one possible sp. to another. This is exacerbated by the complicated science of phylogenetics. It seems that an I.D. which was correct last year might well be wrong now. I am happier learning simpler things like the fact that Erebine moths have super sensitive tympanae (hearing organs) which enable them to hear the echo-locating system used by bats. (my greatly simplified version of info. from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erebinae).

Habitat:

This moth was spotted out behind our house in a rice field which has not yet been ploughed for the coming planting season. Since the rains have recently started, the field is now thickly covered with wild grasses and foliage. Every step I take stirs up moths and grasshoppers.