Psilogramma menephron

Australian Privet Hawk Moth
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Psilogramma
Species: P. menephron
Binomial name
Psilogramma menephron
(Cramer, 1780)[1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx menephron Cramer, [1780]
  • Sphinx menephron discistriga Walker, 1856
  • Psilogramma melanomera (Butler, 1875)
  • Sphinx ahrendti Pagenstecher, 1888

The Privet Hawk Moth (Psilogramma menephron), also known as Large brown hawkmoth, is a member of the Family Sphingidae. It is usually found in Sri Lanka, India (including the Andaman Islands), Nepal, central and southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Psilogramma casuarinae from eastern Australia was long treated as a synonym, but is now thought to be a distinct species. The introduced population on Hawaii was first thought to be menephron, but is in fact Psilogramma increta.[2]

Description

The wingspan is 82–138 mm. Head, thorax, abdomen and fore wings are grey in color. Dark brown bands along the sides of palpi and thorax meet on metathorax, where there are a few blue and yellow scales. A dark line runs down vertex of abdomen and paired more diffused subdorsal lines. Fore wings with some dark strigae from the costa. There are two dark streaks in the interspaces below veins 2 and 3 and a dark streak down from the costa before the apex, curved down to vein 6, then upwards and bent back before reaching the apex. Hind wings are brownish with pale patch with two dark lines across it near the anal angle. Ventral side is much paler with indistinct transverse lines. Larva greenish with white specks on the vertex of 1st, 2nd and 3rd somites. There are oblique white lateral stripes on 4th and 11th somites.[3]

Biology

Larvae have been recorded on Clerodendrum fortunatum, Ligustrum species (including Ligustrum sinense), Fraxinus, Jasminum, Tectona grandis, Vitex negundo, Callicarpa arborea, Lonicera, Perilla and Osmanthus sesamum.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  2. ↑ "Psilogramma menephron Cramer". The Moths of Borneo. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Hampson G. F. (1892). "The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma Moths Vol-i". Digital Library of India. p. 558. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Large brown hawkmoth". Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic species list. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Psilogramma menephron". Butterfly House. Retrieved 6 July 2016.


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