September 2007. The moth illustrated is from central Vietnam. Its larvae eat the leave of acacia and the damage is serious.

This is a moth in the family Notodontidae (the hindwing protruding slightly in front of the forewing is typical of genera related to the genus Stauropus). It could be placed in, or close to, the genus Syntypistis (=Quadricalcarifera), but this is by no means a certainty. A specimen with most of its scales intact would greatly assist in placing it to species.

There was also a suggestion that is might be Tiracola plagiata.

However, see http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/name_s/b_4066.htm for an illustration of Tiracola plagiata. This species has a steeply tectiform resting posture, with the hindwing completely hidden, unlike the original photo from Vietnam, where the hindwing protruds in front of the forewing costa, and the posture is much flatter. The species looks very close to Stauropus alternus. Both these species are resident in Hong Kong.

The global distribution of S alternus is quite large, and includes Vietnam – Holloway (1983) Moths of Borneo 3, Notodontidae and the notodontid volume of Fauna Sinica Insecta give NE Himalayas, China (Taiwan, Guangdong Province), Sundaland, Philippines, Wallacea. See photo of S alternus adult at:

http://www.hkwildlife.net/viewthread.php?tid=3420 (middle photo)

Photo of S alternus adult (set specimen): http://www.jpmoth.org/Notodontidae/Stauropus_alternus.html
Photos of S alternus ova & 2nd instar larvae: http://www.hkwildlife.net/viewthread.php?tid=6094

The HOSTS database of the Natural History Museum, London, (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/hostplants/) gives 87 host records (though using an old combination of Neostauropus alternus) from a wide range of shrub and tree species in over 15 families.