Hercules Moth

I have seen these ginormous moths on each of my trips to larger islands of Raja Ampat, especially Waigeo and Misool.  Believe it or not, these are not even the largest ones we've had onboard!?

They are attracted to the flying insects which are attracted to the bright lights of the ship in the artificial lightless nights in the field, and often call the ship home for several days at a time while hunting and feasting away, giving them a leg-up on foraging and survival for the coming times once the boat moves on.  Last week a pair of these guys hung out and even asked us if we would mind posing for pictures with them.

They are hercules moths, one of the largest species of moths on the planet (apparently females can reach up to 27cm), and have long 'tails' on their wings.  Somehow 'moth' has always been a bit of a bummer of a word for me... I much prefer the Indonesian term kupu-kupu malam, literally translated it's night-time butterfly.  Of course, be careful how/where you use that term... it has another less literal meaning as well ;)