A moth tsar Attacus atlas posed for a photographer Sandesh Kadur

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Lev Bely, 10.03.2012 19:04

Sandesh Kadur photographer met a giant Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) during his trip through the eastern Himalayas where he headed for to study and shoot the local biodiversity. Early morning while driving somewhere in Arunachal Pradesh he suddenly noticed a “ginormous moth” sitting on a road by a pothole. Once Kadur got out the moth immediately took a defensive posture, spread its wings as wide as possible and leant itself forward to seem bigger. Meanwhile, one of Kadur's colleagues went round the back to see it better: the moth wingspan turned out to be wider than its face. Having finished this accidental photo shoot Kadur carefully put the moth off the road as he wasn't sure if it would be safe to leave it sitting there.

The Atlas moth is a giant amidst insects, one of the world's biggest moths with a 25cm wingspan. While these giants are a common sight in South Asia, they can also be met all the way from India to Papua New Guinea. The moth deters predators both with its wingspan and striking patterns. Curious that some dangerous animals and insects like wasps or poison frogs are colored same warning tones. In China the Atlas moth is called “snake's head moth” for its snake-like ornament on the tips of its wings.

Well, Kadur's tsar looks excellent indeed. The Indian tsar!

New Scientist, http://www.newscientist.com

Photo: Sandesh Kadur, New Scientist, http://www.newscientist.com

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