モッコウバラの上のナカアオフトメイガ

昨日、台風15号が日本列島を横断していった。鎌倉あたりは雨がひどかったらしい。八幡宮前の道路が冠水したらしい。一方。我が家の周りは風も雨もひどくなく、この酷暑の間、雨が降らずに乾ききっていた土には恵みの雨がもたらされた。
台風の影響を確認したくて、今朝、庭に出た。我が家にある、いろんな植物の鉢には影響がない様子。ただ、その中の一つ、モッコウバラの鉢。これをよく見たら、何かの幼虫がいた。なんだろう。細い糸で繭を作りそろそろサナギになろうと、眠そうに、葉の間に隠れた積もりでいたらしかった。
一眼レフを取り出し撮影した。たまにしか使わないから、ピントがあわない。あーもっと、ピントキレキレの画像を撮りたい。日々の鍛錬とはこういうときに役立つものなのだろう。なんとか、それらしくとれが画像がこれ。google画像検索にかけてみた。
”ナカアオフトメイガ(Teliphasa elegans (Butler, 1881)”というらしい。バラ科も食べるらしいが、モッコウバラなんか食べるんだろうか？いままで、モッコウバラに虫が付いた事などなかったのに。
モッコウバラの葉を食べている様子もなく、かわいそうかもしれないけど、わが庭から撤収いただいた。南無。。。
– [JPMoth – *Teliphasa elegans*（ナカアオフトメイガ）]
– [みんなで作る日本産蛾類図鑑（和名・食草検索可能）]
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Yesterday, Typhoon No. 15 swept across Japan. It rained pretty hard around Kamakura area. Seems like the road in front of Hachimangu Shrine got flooded.
Over here around my home, the wind and rain weren’t all that bad. Actually, after weeks of scorching heat and zero rain, the earth was parched—so this gentle rainfall came as a real blessing.
Curious to see if the typhoon had left any damage, I stepped out into my garden this morning. Looking around at the various pods I have, everything seemed fine at first glance. But then I noticed something on the *Mokkou Bara* (Banksia rose).
Taking a look closer, there it was. Some kind of caterpillar! I wasn’t sure exactly what kind, but it seemed to be in the middle of making a cocoon, spinning fine silk threads, as if trying to pupate. Sleepily nestled between the leaves, it probably thought it was well hidden.
I took out my DSLR camera to snap a photo. I don’t use it often, so I struggled with getting the focus right. Man… I really wish I could take super sharp shots! That’s where daily practice would really come in handy, I guess.
Anyway, I managed to get something decent-looking in the end. I uploaded the photo to Google Image Search to investigate.
Turns out, it might be a moth called *Teliphasa elegans*—also known in Japanese as ナカアオフトメイガ. According to what I found, they sometimes feed on plants in the rose family. But *Mokkou Bara*? Really? I’ve never seen insects on it before.
It didn’t look like it was actually eating the leaves, but still… poor thing or not—I had to remove it from the garden. Sorry….
### References:
– [JPMoth – *Teliphasa elegans*]
– [Japanese Moth Database]