Insect · GBIF taxon 5143226
Sloane's Urania
Urania sloanusAlso known as Sloane's Urania Butterfly, Jamaican Sunset Moth
Sloane's urania was a dazzling day-flying moth famous for its iridescent green, gold, and magenta wing scales that flashed brilliantly in tropical sunlight. Adults gathered in spectacular seasonal migratory swarms over the Jamaican lowlands, feeding at white-flowered forest trees during peak daylight hours. Habitat destruction and agricultural clearing of its specialized larval host vines drove this radiant island endemic to extinction by the early twentieth century.
Day-flyingIridescent
Licensed referenceno rights reserved, uploaded by Andreas Manz · cc0
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Floral nectar
- Omphalea triandra leaves
- Omphalea diandra leaves
Predators
- Insectivorous birds
- Jamaican anoles
- Orb-weaver spiders
ThreatsDeforestation for coffee and banana plantations and destruction of larval host plants
HabitatsTropical moist lowland forests and montane rain forest edges
Life spanSeveral months across egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages
Classification
- OrderLepidoptera
- FamilyUraniidae
- GenusUrania
- SpeciesUrania sloanus
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Museum Collections: Observe historical specimens carefully preserved under glass in major natural history museums.
- Report Potential Sightings: Check high-canopy Jamaican forests for any surviving remnant populations and notify entomologists.
Host Plant User:Carstor / CC BY-SA 3.0 · cc-by-sa
Image unavailableClose Relative 
Same Family (c) Frank Vassen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
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Species set
Moonlight Marvels
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