About

This website contains images, descriptions of species and details of the pyralids (Superfamily Pyraloidea) of Borneo, of which we have images and details of 2,500+ named species or morphotypes. The diversity of this superfamily in Borneo is astonishing, and we hope to reveal them in all their remarkable diversity.

As a visual guide we hope that this site will encourage study of this obscure but interesting group of moths, which are hardly known outside a handful of museums. This work is not intended as a taxonomic monograph. There are no formal descriptions of species or revisions of genera. It is simply intended to aid field workers to separate thyridid moths at the genus and species levels, and to 'open the door' for those who wish to explore this group of diverse and often beautiful insects, the ecology of which is almost entirely unknown.

The Pyralids of Borneo website was originally created in 2012. In June 2026, it was extensively redesigned to bring it into line with its sister sites. This redesign was made possible by Dato' Henry Barlow.

Browse the full catalogue or view statistics here.

Acknowledgements

The authors of Pyralids of Borneo wish to thank the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London for permission to study and photograph specimens in their collections.

They also wish to thank the late Michael Shaffer for his unfailing patience and generous help in explaining some of the finer points of thyridid and pyralid classification. Without his encouragement and industry over decades this publication could not have been undertaken. Let these volumes be a monument to his assistance and endeavour.

We would also like to thank the many other staff members at the NHM especially the Curator of Microlepidoptera Mr Kevin Tuck for general support, for their help during visits to the collections and for the supply of a number of images.

We are particularly grateful to Professor (Dr) Konrad Fiedler for permission to work in the Department of Population Ecology of the University of Vienna and Dr Christian Schulze of the same institute who allowed us to photograph their collections from Borneo, which form the centrepiece of the illustrations in these volumes. Mr Jonathan Brunton took the majority of the better quality photographs. His help and advice on things photographic was invaluable. The minority of illustrations were taken by TMW. Other photographs of type specimens were provided by the NHM Photographic Unit (Pl. 4, Figs 121 & 127; Pl. 5, figs. 138 & 143; Pl. 7, fig. 217). Dr. Mamoru Owada of the Department of Zoology, National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo, Japan provided the illustration of the holotype of Herdonia acutapex Inoue (Pl. 4, Fig. 131). All photographs of living moths in Plate 10 were provided by Mr John Moore with the exception of Pl. 10, fig. 83a which was taken by Mr. Michael Cermak. Ahmad Basir bin Omar provided invaluable help in designing the plates.

We would like to express thanks to the Mr. Yong Lee Ming (Director, Research) and Mr. Phua Peh Kee (Deputy Director), Department Agriculture, Sabah for permission to visit the Agricultural Research Centre at Tuaran and to photograph some of the specimens held in the insect collection. We also thank the Senior Research Officer Mr. William Wong and the Senior Entomologist, Mr. Jinius Jipanin for facilitating this visit.

Also in Sabah, we would like to express thanks to Datuk Sam Mannan, Director of the Sabah Forestry Department and Dr Lee Ying Fah, Head of Centre (Deputy Director, R&D) for permission to visit the Forest Research Centre, Sepilok, Sandakan. Our thanks also to the Head of the Entomology Section, Dr Chey Vun Khen, for access to the collections and for his unfailing help and support in facilitating many aspects of entomological work in Sabah.

We thank the Danum Valley Management Committee and their secretary Dr. Waidi Sinun for permission to visit the Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC), Lahad Datu, and the Director of the Royal Society South-east Asia Rainforest Research Programme, Dr Glen Reynolds, for help during field research and the opportunity to examine Lepidoptera collections held at DVFC.

In the years from 1989 many individuals helped to collect microlepidoptera in Borneo which were of use to this study; these included Ms. Louise Ashton, Dr Andrew Davis, Ms Katy Deaton, Mr Jeremy Griffith, Prof. Roger L. Kitching, En. Jamaludin Jamil, En. Alex Karolus, En. Anthony Karolus, En. Nasir Majid, Dr John Willott, Dr Sheila Wright, and En. Mohd. Nazran Yaakub.

Sister Sites

The Moths of Borneo

The Moths of Borneo website serves as a definitive online resource for J.D. Holloway's landmark research on Bornean moths. Initially launched in 2003, this platform brings decades of meticulous study into an accessible digital format, offering a comprehensive look at the approximately 4,500 'macro' moth species recorded from Borneo, all of which are illustrated in colour across the 18 volumes.

The Genting Tea Estate Collection

The Genting Tea Estate holds the largest collection of lepidoptera species found in Peninsula Malaysia. The data has been collected by Dato' Henry Barlow since 1976.