''Lyssa zampa'', the tropical swallowtail moth or Laos brown butterfly, is a moth of the family Uraniidae. The species was first described by British

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1869. The species is native to a wide range of tropical South-East Asia: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It is also recorded from

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

, southern China, the Himalayas, and sporadically in East Asia: Taiwan,

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 ...

and South Korea. The forewing length is about and the wingspan reaches a maximum of . It is most abundant from May to November depending on the location. The genus '' Lyssa'' is generally categorized as a

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...

group, but this species has been found to be active both during the day and at night. This species is also known for its mass emergence and migration. Because of that ecology and the habit that they are often attracted by urban bright lights, this species can attract human attention. The larvae feed on ''

Endospermum ''Endospermum'' is a genus of plants, under the family Euphorbiaceae and the monotypic subtribe Endosperminae first described as a genus in 1861 They are dioecious, rarely monoecious trees. It is native to E + S + SE Asia, Papuasia, Queensland, a ...

'' and other members of the rubber tree family ( Euphorbiaceae).

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* * * * * Uraniidae Moths of Asia Moths of Japan Moths described in 1869 {{Geometroidea-stub