Theretra nessus

Last updated

Yam hawk moth
Yam Hawk Moth Theretra nessus.jpg
In Mangaon, Maharashtra, India
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Theretra
Species:
T. nessus
Binomial name
Theretra nessus
(Drury, 1773) [1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx nessusDrury, 1773
  • Sphinx equestrisFabricius, 1793
  • Chaerocampa nessusrubicundus (Schaufuss, 1870)

Theretra nessus, the yam hawk moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Dru Drury in 1773.

Contents

Distribution

It is found in Sri Lanka, India (including the Andaman and Nicobar islands), Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, southern China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, northern Australia and New Caledonia. [2] It is a recent immigrant in Oahu.

Yam Hawk-Moth YAM HAWK-MOTH.jpg
Yam Hawk-Moth

Description

The wingspan is 90–130 mm. Head, thorax and a stripe down center of abdomen is green suffused with ferrugineous. Thorax is with a lateral grey stripe and abdomen is golden yellow at the sides. Forewings are olive brown and the base with a patch of black and white on the inner margin. A black dot is present at end of cell. A postmedial waved oblique line met by three straight oblique lines from the apex at inner margin. Hindwings are black brown where the anal angle is ochreous, which colour extends towards the apex as a submarginal band. Ventral side is suffused with reddish ochreous. [3]

Biology

Larva is bluish green, with a subdorsal line with oblique streaks below it on 4th to 10th somites. Ocellus on the 4th somite is greenish with a black ring. The horn is yellowish. Larvae have been recorded on Amaranthus , Barringtonia , Dioscorea , Amorphophallus , Impatiens , Citrullus , Arathis , Boerhavia , Knoxia , Morinda , Oldenlandia , Pongamia , Spermacoce , Glossostigma and Camellia . [4] [5]

Theretra nessus larva (2) and pupa (2a) HorsfieldMoorCatalogueEastIndiaCompanyLepidopteraPlateXI.jpg
Theretra nessus larva (2) and pupa (2a)

Subspecies

Related Research Articles

<i>Psilogramma menephron</i> Species of moth

Psilogramma menephron, the privet hawk moth or large brown hawkmoth, is a member of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is usually found in Sri Lanka, India, 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 P. menephron, but is Psilogramma increta.

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

Theretra oldenlandiae, the impatiens hawkmoth, taro hornworm or white-banded hunter hawkmoth, is a member of the family Sphingidae.

<i>Marumba dyras</i> Species of moth

Marumba dyras, the dull swirled hawkmoth, is a species of hawk moth described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is found in South-east and South Asia.

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

Nephele hespera, the crepuscular hawkmoth, is a sphingid moth described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775.

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

Hippotion celerio, the vine hawk-moth or silver-striped hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

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

Theretra clotho, the common hunter hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Myanmar, east through China to Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, and then south-east through South East Asia as far as the Lesser Sunda Islands and Timor in Indonesia. They can disperse long distances and may be found up to northern China. The habitat consists of open forests, forest edges, orchards, plantations, wooded scrubs, suburban gardens and city parks.

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

Theretra latreillii, the pale brown hawk moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae described by William Sharp Macleay in 1826. It is found in most of Asia, including Borneo, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan and also throughout the tropical and temperate regions of Australia.

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

Theretra silhetensis, the brown-banded hunter hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae described by Francis Walker in 1856. It lives in Indo-Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, East Australia, Solomon Islands, Fiji Islands, Vanuatu Islands.

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

Hippotion velox, the dark striated hawkmoth, is a species of sphingid moth or the family Sphingidae. The species was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793.

<i>Macroglossum insipida</i> Species of moth

Macroglossum insipida, the hermit hummingbird hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1875.

<i>Thyas coronata</i> Species of moth

Thyas coronata is a species of moth of the family Erebidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics of southern China, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka to Micronesia and the Society Islands.

<i>Ophiusa trapezium</i> Species of moth

Ophiusa trapezium is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics of India, Sri Lanka to Queensland, the Bismarck Islands and New Caledonia. Adults are fruit piercers.

<i>Pergesa</i> Genus of moths

Pergesa is a monotypic moth genus in the family Sphingidae first described by Francis Walker in 1856. Its only species, Pergesa acteus, the green pergesa hawkmoth, was described by Pieter Cramer in 1779.

<i>Acosmeryx shervillii</i> Species of moth

Acosmeryx shervillii, the dull forest hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1875. It is found from the Indian subregion, Sri Lanka, to Sundaland, the Philippines and Sulawesi. Acosmeryx pseudonaga is sometimes treated as a valid species.

<i>Amplypterus panopus</i> Species of moth

Amplypterus panopus, the mango hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1779. It is found in Sri Lanka, southern and northern India, Nepal, Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines.

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

Theretra gnoma is a moth of the family Sphingidae described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is known from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, China.

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

Theretra suffusa is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

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

Theretra rhesus is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

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

Theretra lycetus, the white-edged hunter hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Pieter Cramer in 1775.

<i>Ambulyx substrigilis</i> Species of moth

Ambulyx substrigilis, the dark-based gliding hawkmoth, is a species of moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by John O. Westwood in 1847.

References

  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  2. "Theretra nessus". Butterfly House. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  3. Hampson, G. F. (1892). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume I. Vol. Moths - Vol. I. Taylor and Francis via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. Pittaway, A. R.; Kitching, I. J. (2018). "Theretra nessus (Drury, 1773) -- Yam hawkmoth". Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  5. "Theretra nessus Drury". The Moths of Borneo. Retrieved 6 July 2016.