Basiothia medea

Last updated

Small verdant hawk
Basiothia medea.JPG
Basiothia medea.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Basiothia
Species:
B. medea
Binomial name
Basiothia medea
(Fabricius, 1781) [1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx medeaFabricius, 1781
  • Sphinx minusFabricius, 1787
  • Sphinx idrieusDrury, 1782
  • Sphinx clioFabricius, 1793
  • Sphinx onothberinaMartyn, 1797
  • Choerocampa transfigurataWallengren, 1860
  • Basiothia nigritaClark, 1920
  • Basiothia idricusWalker, 1856

Basiothia medea, the small verdant hawk, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is common in open habitats throughout the Ethiopian Region, including Madagascar. It is however probably absent from the equatorial forest belt, except as a vagrant. The species is an active migrant. [2]

The length of the forewings is 22–25 mm and the wingspan is 49–63 mm.

The larvae feed on Spermacoce natalensis , Dioda , Spermacoce , Pentas and Pentasinia species. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Xylophanes tersa</i> Species of insect

Xylophanes tersa, the tersa sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771. It is found from the United States, through Mexico, the West Indies and Central America and into parts of South America. An occasional stray can be found as far north as Canada.

<i>Polyptychus affinis</i> Species of moth

Polyptychus affinis is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan in 1903. It is known at elevations up to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in forests from Sierra Leone to the Congo, Uganda and western Kenya.

<i>Hippotion boerhaviae</i> Species of moth

Hippotion boerhaviae, the pale striated hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

<i>Acanthosphinx</i> Genus of moths

Acanthosphinx is a monotypic moth genus in the family Sphingidae erected by Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius in 1891. Its only species, Acanthosphinx guessfeldti, the widow sphinx, was first described by Hermann Dewitz in 1879. It is known from forests from Sierra Leone to the Congo, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.

<i>Euchloron</i> Genus of moths

Euchloron is a monotypic moth genus of the family Sphingidae first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1875. Its only species, Euchloron megaera, the verdant hawk, is known from most of Africa and Yemen. It is a migratory species.

<i>Platysphinx constrigilis</i> Species of moth

Platysphinx constrigilis is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by Francis Walker in 1869. It is known from Africa.

<i>Basiothia aureata</i> Species of moth

Basiothia aureata, the gold dotted temnora, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in wooded habitats from Liberia to Kenya in the east and to Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the south.

<i>Basiothia charis</i> Species of moth

Basiothia charis, the lesser brown striped hawk, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is fairly common in most habitats, excluding very dry areas, throughout Africa south of the Sahara. It has not been recorded from Madagascar.

<i>Basiothia laticornis</i> Species of moth

Basiothia laticornis is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is only known from Madagascar.

<i>Basiothia schenki</i> Species of moth

Basiothia schenki, the brown striped hawk, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Heinrich Benno Möschler in 1872. It is known from Zimbabwe and South Africa.

<i>Polyptychoides grayii</i> Species of moth

Polyptychoides grayii, or Gray's polyptychus, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from eastern Africa, south to South Africa.

<i>Pseudoclanis occidentalis</i> Species of moth

Pseudoclanis occidentalis is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic and Kenya.

<i>Falcatula falcatus</i> Species of moth

Falcatula falcatus is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from savanna and woodland from Zimbabwe to Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, the Central African Republic and eastern Africa.

<i>Lophostethus dumolinii</i> Species of moth

Lophostethus dumolinii is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from most habitats, except desert and high mountains throughout the Ethiopian Region, excluding Madagascar and the Cape in South Africa.

<i>Coelonia fulvinotata</i> Species of moth

Coelonia fulvinotata is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1875. It is known from most habitats throughout the Afrotropical realm, from the Gambia east to Ethiopia and south to northern South Africa and Madagascar.

<i>Dovania poecila</i> Species of moth

Dovania poecila is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from forests in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Malawi.

<i>Cephonodes apus</i> Species of moth

Cephonodes apus is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from the Islands of Réunion and Mauritius.

<i>Nephele densoi</i> Species of moth

Nephele densoi is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Madagascar and the Comoro Islands.

<i>Nephele oenopion</i> Species of moth

Nephele oenopion is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Africa.

<i>Theretra capensis</i> Species of moth

Theretra capensis is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from woodland and open habitats from the Cape to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique and East Africa.

References

  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  2. Carcasson, R. H. (1967). "Revised Catalogue of the African Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) with Descriptions of the East African species". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society and National Museum. 26 (3): 1–173 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  3. De Prins, J. & De Prins, W. (2018). "Basiothia medea (Fabricius, 1781)". Afromoths. Retrieved December 5, 2018.