''Phazaca theclata'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Uraniidae The Uraniidae are a family of moths containing four subfamilies, 90 genera, and roughly 700 species. The family is distributed throughout the tropics of the Americas, Africa and Indo-Australia.Carter, David, ''Eyewitness Handbook to Butterflies ...

. It was first described by

Achille Guenée Achille Guenée (sometimes M.A. Guenée; 1 January 1809 – 30 December 1880) was a French lawyer and entomologist. Biography Achille Guenée was born in Chartres and died in Châteaudun. He was educated in Chartres, where he showed a very e ...

in 1858. It is known from Africa south of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, as well as from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Description

Its wingspan is around 17–22 mm. The hindwings of the male have slight tails at veins 4 and 7, and the venation is normal. In males, the antennae and vertex of the head are whitish. Head and thorax violaceous (violet) grey. Abdomen ochreous, except at base. Forewings violaceous grey. A large triangular patch outlined with double brown line on the costa beyond the middle. There is a similar oval spot with darker centre on inner margin. There is a series of marginal fuscous lunules. Hindwings with the basal half violaceous grey, which is darkest at inner margin. The outer half pale ochreous brown, the two areas defined by a rufous and pale line. There is a series of marginal fuscous lunules. Female has same violaceous abdomen and hindwings as the ground colour. Larva feeds on

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The ...

species, including ''

Stachytarpheta urticifolia ''Stachytarpheta urticifolia'', the nettleleaf velvetberry, is a species of lavender plant in the verbena family. In some countries it is considered as an invasive weed. References External links * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15283809 urticifolia

'' and plants like ''

Adina cordifolia ''Haldina cordifolia'', syn. ''Adina cordifolia'', is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Haldina''. It is native to southern Asia, from India east to Yunnan and Vietnam and south to Peninsular Malaysia. I ...

'', '' Burttdavya nyasica'', ''

Morinda ''Morinda'' is a genus of flowering plants in the madder family, Rubiaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin words ''morus'' "mulberry", from the appearance of the fruits, and ''indica'', meaning "of India". Description Distributed i ...

'' sp., ''

Randia dumetorum ''Catunaregam spinosa'', the mountain pomegranate, is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, found in South Asia and other Asian countries. Almost all parts of the plant are used as a traditional medicine in Ayurveda and fruits have been repo ...

'', ''

Tectona grandis Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

'', ''

Paraserianthes falcataria ''Falcataria falcata'' (syns. ''Albizia falcata'', ''Falcataria moluccana'' and ''Paraserianthes falcataria''), commonly known as the Moluccan albizia, is a species of fast-growing tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the Maluku Islands, ...

'', '' Coddia rudis'' and ''

Duranta erecta ''Duranta erecta'' is a species of flowering shrub in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical gardens throughout the world, ...

''Notes on Lepidoptera from the Seychelles
/ref>

References

External links

Picture of ''Dirades theclata'' on Flickr

A Taxonomic Revision of the Korean Epipleminae

New and recent records of moth and butterfly species
Uraniidae Moths of Sub-Saharan Africa Moths of Madagascar Moths of the Comoros Moths of Mauritius Moths of Seychelles Moths of Réunion Taxa named by Achille Guenée Insects of the Arabian Peninsula {{Geometroidea-stub