Living in rural Thailand for a few years, I was fascinated by the diversity of butterflies and moths that I could see around my house. And as any naturalist would, I decided to attempt to understand and document it.
This is by no means an encyclopaedia of the moths of Thailand. In fact, it is something much more personal: a collection of the moths that regularly turned up around my house. There are obviously many more species to be found in Thailand’s national parks and forests, but I was amazed by just how many different moths I could find without going any further than my own garden.
Hawkmoths
Some of the more visually striking moths in Thailand belong to the Hawkmoth family. Their name comes from the hawk-like shape of their wings, which are designed to sustain rapid flight.
Hawkmoths are among the strongest fliers in the moth world. Many species hover in front of flowers while feeding, extending a remarkably long proboscis to reach nectar without landing. This hovering flight has earned some species comparisons with hummingbirds, and a large hawkmoth feeding at flowers can be an unexpectedly spectacular sight.
Although not all hawkmoths seem to have impressed the people who named them, as the next three species names demonstrate.
Even the caterpillars of hawkmoths can be striking. The Oleander hawkmoth caterpillar is a spectacular green, with large blue-and-white eyespots along its body. As its name suggests, oleander is one of its host plants, although the caterpillars also feed on several other plants.
Tiger Moth
The White-winged Red Costa Tiger Moth is one of the more unusual-looking moths I came across in Thailand. At rest, with its fluffy white body and white wings edged in red, it looks almost delicate. But underneath those wings it is hiding a much more dramatic orange-red and black patterned body.
Some tiger moth caterpillars feed on toxic plants and can retain the plants’ defensive chemicals in their bodies, making themselves less appetising to predators. The Red Costa itself is much less fussy, with caterpillars recorded feeding on a surprisingly wide range of plants.
Giant Silkworm Moth
Some of the biggest moths you are likely to come across in Thailand are Giant Silkworm Moths. This family includes some real giants, including the enormous Atlas moth, which can have a wingspan of more than 20 cm.
Despite their size, adult Giant Silkworm Moths have very short lives. Many species don’t feed at all as adults, relying entirely on the energy they stored up as caterpillars. Their job at this stage is essentially to find a mate and reproduce.
The “silkworm” part of the name comes from their caterpillars, which spin silk cocoons before transforming into moths.
Orange Fruit Piercer
The Orange Fruit Piercer has a rather unusual way of feeding. Instead of waiting for fruit to split or become damaged, it uses its strong, pointed proboscis to pierce straight through the skin and drink the juice inside. This makes it one of the relatively few moths capable of piercing intact fruit.
Their love of fruit like citrus, mangoes, bananas and guavas means that these rather beautiful moths are not always welcome in orchards.
Erebid Moths
Erebidae is one of the largest and most diverse moth families in the world, and its members come in an extraordinary variety of shapes, sizes and colours. The five species here are just a few members of this enormous family that regularly turned up at my house.
The Owl-eye moth really does look like a little owl. These eyespots are thought to help protect the moth from predators. Instead of snatching an easy meal, a would-be predator would find a much larger animal staring back at it.
And when the moth is resting with its wings folded, its brown colouring helps it blend surprisingly well into tree bark and dead leaves.
Geometer Moths
The real looping specialists are the geometer moths. Their caterpillars, commonly known as inchworms or loopers, have an unusual way of walking. They pull their back end up towards their front legs, arching their body into a loop, before stretching forward again. It looks a little as though they are measuring the ground as they go, which is where the name “geometer”, or “earth measurer”, comes from.
Lappet Moths
And finally, a representative of another wonderfully named family: the Lappet Moths. Their name comes from the fleshy flaps, or “lappets”, that run along the sides of their caterpillars and help disguise their outline.
The Rose-myrtle lappet moth is a particularly beautiful member of the family. Males are pale green, while the considerably larger females are usually yellowish, making the two sexes look surprisingly different.
And these are only some of the moths I managed to photograph and identify. What fascinated me most about discovering the moths of Thailand was that I didn’t have to go looking for them; they were simply there, around my house in rural Kanchanaburi.
Huge thanks to John Moore for his help in identifying some of the species on this page. You can see his stunning gallery of Thailand’s moths here.
More on Thailand Wildlife and National Parks
- The Striking World of Moths of Thailand
- Practical Guide to Khao Sok National Park: How to Visit & What to See
- 12 National Parks in Thailand to Fall in Love With
- Why You Must Visit Erawan National Park on your Trip to Thailand
- Secret Crystal Cave in Kanchanaburi – An Amazing Hidden Gem
- Bumblebee Bat and Other Wildlife of Kanchanaburi, Thailand
- Guide to Visiting Khao Yai National Park, Thailand
- 7-Day Chiang Mai Itinerary: Temples, Waterfalls, and Hot Springs
- Amazing Wild Animals in Thailand And Where to See Them
- Thi Lo Su Waterfall Jungle Adventure – Thailand off the Beaten Path
Thanks for sharing. Amazing animals of Khaoyai.