Check out this Incredible ‘Fruit Roll-up’ Moth!

Habitat: found from India across south-east Asia to the Pacific Islands. In Australia it occurs in the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales
Status: No Conservation Concerns

This is the Fruit Piercing Moth (Eudocima salaminia) which is quite similar in appearance to the previously featured rolled-up leaf moth, Uropyia meticulodina. This species looks a little ‘healthier’ than the Uropyia sp. since it’s got a bit of green on the wings, though. It really is a spectacular optical illusion featured on this moth’s body – it looks like it’s a folded up leaf but instead its wings are just closed together. It’s only due to the shading and coloration on the 80 cm wings that it looks like that. I’ve dubbed it the fruit roll-up moth, like the snack.

Even more impressive is when it unfolds its wings and reveals the bright flash of orange hidden underneath:

These moths get their name from the fact that they, well, pierce fruit. They’re a nuisance to farmers as they puncture the fruit in order to get to the juice and then leave the hole open allowing the fruit to be vulnerable to fungi and other micro-organisms. They’ll go after oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruits as well as Lychees and Longans.

Even if they are annoying, they’re still really cool to look at…