Radiant New Species of Moth Named After the Sun

A new species of moth with a stunning kaleidoscopic wing pattern has been discovered in China.

As an homage to the orange circular patches on its wings that resemble the Sun, the moth was named Stenoloba solaris.

Its 34 millimeter wingspan is primarily a dark green or grey hue, with prominent orange patches dotting the wings on either side of the moths body.

The new species was caught during a spring 2012 expedition into a river valley in between heavily forested mountains in the northwest of Yunnan province.

The moth's remote location in the Baima Xue mountain range speaks to its isolation as a species - only one male has been found.

However, the Stenoloba solaris does have a rather robust extended family. The sun moth belongs to the family Noctuidae, broad-bodied insects that account for at least 35,000 different species.  

Several species in the Noctuidae family are said to be economically important because their larvae live and feed in soils at the base of roughage crops like lettuce and cabbage. Other species from the same family are said to have caterpillars that can feed off of poisonous plants that usually kill other insects.

A description of the new moth was published in the open access journal Zookeys.