Animal field guide
Cyclodes Moth
Cyclodes omma
A Cyclodes Moth at rest is a piece of bark that happens to have an eye. The pattern does not startle so much as complete the surface it is sitting on, so a bird looking for a moth looks past it.
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Get AnimalDexCyclodes Moth at a glance
Invertebrate · Native range keys: south_asia · Relatively common
Known for: Medium noctuid, Forewings grey-brown with a bold circular eyespot, Rests with wings tented or flat against bark, Hindwings paler
Understand the animal
Understand the Cyclodes Moth
Factual biology first: what this animal is like, where it lives, how it survives, and why those traits exist.
01
Introduction to Cyclodes Moth
A Cyclodes Moth at rest is a piece of bark that happens to have an eye. The pattern does not startle so much as complete the surface it is sitting on, so a bird looking for a moth looks past it.
How to identify a Cyclodes Moth
- Medium noctuid, wingspan around 50-60 mm
- Forewings grey-brown with a bold circular eyespot (omma) near the centre
- Rests with wings tented or flat against bark, eyespot showing
- Hindwings paler, usually hidden at rest
Why Cyclodes Moth are interesting
- The species name omma is Greek for eye — the spot is the character that identifies it.
- It ranges from South and Southeast Asia into northern Australia, and is often found on tree trunks near lights after dark.
- Larvae feed on plants in the ebony family and related trees, and are not the stage most people see.
- The eyespot is a camouflage mark first and a startle mark second: at rest it looks like a knot; if the moth is flushed it can read as a face.
- Like many bark moths it sits head-down, which lines the pattern up with the grain of the trunk.
02
Adaptations and biological abilities
03
Why does Cyclodes Moth behave this way?
- Medium noctuid, wingspan around 50-60 mm
- Forewings grey-brown with a bold circular eyespot (omma) near the centre
- Rests with wings tented or flat against bark, eyespot showing
- Hindwings paler, usually hidden at rest
Night-flying, coming to lights after dusk, and motionless on bark or a wall through the day.
04
Why Native range keys: south_asia?
Habitat: Native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for.
Native range: Native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for.
Native range
Natural range, not this specific capture location.
Native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for.
05
Why this diet?
Adults take nectar at night. Larvae chew leaves of ebony-family and related trees. Feeding in the dark and resting as bark by day is one strategy split across twenty-four hours.
06
Activity, rest, and lifespan
Night-flying, coming to lights after dusk, and motionless on bark or a wall through the day.
Adults live a week or two. The rest of the life is spent as a larva and pupa on or near the food plant.
07
Cyclodes Moth reproduction
Eggs are laid on the food plant. Larvae feed and pupate in a slight cocoon among leaves or bark, so the next adult emerges already next to the surface it will rest on.
Males and females are similar in pattern. Males have slightly finer antennae; the eyespot is the field mark on both.
08
Predators, threats, and defense
Bats and night birds take flying adults; day birds take any moth whose outline breaks. The rest posture is the defence that matters most.
09
Conservation and rarity
Rarity: Relatively common · 25/100. AnimalDex canonical rarity score: 25/100, maintained by the live indexed species profile.
- Observe from a respectful distance and avoid changing the animal's behavior.
- Do not block feeding, shelter, nesting, or travel routes.
- Use a live camera capture without handling or staging wildlife.
Ask AnimalDex
Ask AnimalDex about the Cyclodes Moth
Ask about its biology, behavior, abilities, survival strategy, symbolism, or what its strategy can teach you. Answers stay grounded in this species page.
Anonymous: 3/day. Signed-in: 10/day. Pro: 30/day fair use.
Compare
Compare the Cyclodes Moth
Where to find them
Where to find Cyclodes Moth
To find Cyclodes Moth in the wild, focus on the exact habitat patches that match its body design and daily behavior, not just the broad country where it exists. You usually do better by working one good piece of habitat inside native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for. than by covering too much ground.
- Forest edge, canopy gaps, fruiting trees, or shaded trails where cover and food meet
- Headlands, reef edges, island colonies, tidal channels, or productive coastal water
- Protected habitat blocks within native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for.
Animal field guide
Cyclodes Moth
A Cyclodes Moth at rest is a piece of bark that happens to have an eye. The pattern does not startle so much as complete the surface it is sitting on, so a bird looking for a moth looks past it.
Native range
Natural range, not this capture location
Native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for.
Search near meAnimalDex stats
Dominance
12
Speed
22
Size
8
Intelligence
18
Rarity
25%
Total
85
Size scale
Scientific name
Cyclodes omma
Category
Invertebrate
Habitat
Native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for.
Rarity
Relatively common · 25/100
Native range
Native range keys: south_asia, southeast_asia, australia_oceania. Forest, woodland, gardens and lit walls across tropical Asia and northern Australia. A textured trunk or a shadowed wall is what the pattern is built for.
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