2001-03-20

First Day Cover:

6 stamps

Printing: Lithography
Paper: Special stamp paper with OBA free coating
Stamp size: 30.94 x 45 mm
Perforation: 14 per 2cm
Designs: 17c Macroglossum hirundo vitiensis
48c Hippotion celerio
69c Gnathothlibus erotus eras
89c Theretra pinastrina intersecta
$1.17 Deilehila placida torenia
$2.00 Psilogramma jordana
Stamp Format: Portrait
Designer: George Bennett
Authors: Sada Lal & George Bennett
Printer: Cartor Security Printing Process

The second largest order of insects on our planet are moths and butterflies; order Lepidoptera which is the Greek word for scale and wing. The largest order of insects is, of course, beetles (order Coleoptera). While known beetle species number a staggering 350,000 to 400,000, butterflies and moths follow with about 150,000 species. There are 1200 species of moths and butterflies in Fiji, most of which are moths.

Moths have long fascinated mankind and are prized by collectors. However, moth collections, unlike butterflies and other insects, must be kept out of the light or their colour fades quite rapidly. This makes sense when one considers that the majority of moth species fly at night without the need to evolve colours that do not fade in sunlight like butterflies.


Moths, like butterflies, are among nature's most accomplished mimics. Some moths look like butterflies or wasps. Such adaptation has even reached the extreme of the European Peppered Moth, which is ordinarily white to match the bark of the white Birch tree, now in many places where pollution has covered the White Birch with soot, the European Peppered Moth has developed a sooty colour to match it. Some moths are day fliers and would be easily mistaken for butterflies to the untrained eye.

All of these adaptations make it very difficult to categorize moths, as any rule set to distinguish it from butterflies will always have exceptions. Although many moth larvae are pests to mankind, eating their crop plants or even clothes, on the other hand, moths and their larvae do benefit us. Some moth larvae feed on very specific host plants and this has been well utilised as a biological control agent for weeds. In Australia, the Witchity Grub, a moth larva, is still an important protein source to the Aboriginal people. Moths are important pollinators of flowers and of many fruit crops. And most important in this increasingly crowded planet of humans, moths are creatures of diverse beauty. The extremely beautiful Spanish Moon Moth is now threatened and protected by law. The Ghost Moth of South America has a 300mm wingspan, wider than this opened bulletin you are now reading.

The Sphingid (Hawk) Moths are one of the most interesting groups of moths with their thick bodies and long fore wing, making them quite powerful flyers. De Havilland probably had Hawk Moths in mind when he named his very famous "Tiger Moth" biplane. These moths are often called Sphinx Moths or, because they dart and hover over flowers they take nectar from, are commonly called Hummingbird Moths. Sphinctid Moths all feed on blossom nectar through a proboscis that uncurls to reach the bottom of a flower tube. This proboscis can reach extremes to adapt for specific flowers. The proboscis of Wallace's Hawk Moth is 35cm long (14 inches)! Alfred Russell Wallace, an eminent Victorian naturalist and contemporary of Darwin, guessed a moth must pollinate such a flower and when the Xanthopan morgani was named, it was also named Praedicta, in honour of Wallace's prediction.

There are some 850 species of Hawk Moths worldwide. In Fiji, 10 species have been described. The larva of some of these species are pests feeding on crop leaves such as dalo and tobacco but most feed on forest trees such as Casuarinas (Iron Wood) and Terminalia catappa. Hawk Moths are found all year round but are most abundant during warmer and wet months.

The six stamps in this issue feature some of Fiji's most common and visually exciting Hawk Moths.

17¢- Macroglossum hirundo vitiensis
This moth's habit of appearing at dusk to dart from blossom to blossom has given this genus its name "Hawk Moth". It can be seen feeding at male pawpaw blossoms just before full darkness. This moth's flight is extremely fast. It is widely distributed in Fiji on all islands. Its larva feed mainly on Morinda citrifolia (the 'Kura' tree). As kura has now become an important medicinal plant for export and is being cultivated on a larger scale, this little moth and particularly its larva have become the enemy and is considered a serious pest. For this reason, it will probably be studied more seriously. Too often, our interest in an insect only happens when they threaten or worry a crop from which we want to make money. Otherwise all too often little attention is paid to the biology of the creatures we are supposed to be sharing this planet with. So much for knowledge for its own sake.

48c - Hippotion celerio

One of Fiji's most common Hawk moths and indeed the whole world. Its larva is the common Horn Worm and is a major pest of 'dalo' (Colocasia esculenta) and tobacco plants. It also attacks sweet potatoes and other plants. This Hawk moth is widely distributed in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world such as Africa, the Middle East, most of Europe, the Indian sub-continent, South-East Asia and Australia. This moth has a wingspan of 60 - 80mm and a body length of about 40mm. H. celerio is, like most Hawk moths, a strong flyer and is attracted to light. The mature larva is some 80mm in length, is bright green with a black tail horn, and will have large eyespots on either side of the first abdominal segment and two smaller yellow spots on the following segment. The pupae are greyish-brown with dark brown specks.

69c - Gnathothlibus erotus eras

This is a heavy looking moth with a wingspan of up to 90mm. Both male and female look the same. Its red sienna fore wings and bright yellow hind wings make it a very beautiful species. The food plants of the larva are Morinda citrifolia, Pentas lanceolata and Ipomoea alba.

89c - Theretra pinastrina intersecta

This Hawk moth is quite common throughout Fiji. It may be Fiji's largest Hawk moth with a wingspan of up to 110mm. This moth's larva feeds on Alocasia indica, which is of minimal economic value. Larva has also been found on sweet potato leaves. Its colouring is similar to H. celerio but considerably larger.

$1.17 - Deilephila placida torenia

This Hawk moth is stunning visually and truly, a study in muted subtle tones. Almost nothing is known about its biology as it's larvae only feed on an Alstonia Sp. leaves and is no commercial threat to human activities. This moth is just a work of art to look at and fortunately, it is harmless so we may have it around to look at in the future.
Theretra pinastrina intersecta - 89¢

This Hawk moth is quite common throughout Fiji. It may be Fiji's largest Hawk moth with a wingspan of up to 110mm. This moth's larva feeds on Alocasia indica, which is of minimal economic value. Larva has also been found on sweet potato leaves. Its colouring is similar to H. celerio but considerably larger.

$2.00 - Psilogramma jordana

This species is a real beauty of which both male and female are very similar. However, the males are usually larger than the females and sometimes more densely patterned with a deep chocolate colour. The characteristic creamy white colours of both male and female of this species is unusual. This is a relatively large Hawk moth with an average wingspan of 130mm. Something unique and interesting about this species is that it makes a squeaking sound when disturbed. More study needs to be done on the exact reason for this. It may be a means of sounding an alarm when disturbed. This larva's host plants are Casuarina nodiflora, Citharexylum spinosum, Vitex trifolia and Premma Sp. Because these plants are of little or no economic importance, little study has been done on the biology of this species.

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