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Hippotion celerio

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(Redirected from Vine hawk moth)

Silver-striped hawk-moth
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Hippotion
Species:
H. celerio
Binomial name
Hippotion celerio
      resident range        migrant range
Note: Delineation between resident and migrant ranges cannot be clearly defined
in North Africa and Europe.
Synonyms
  • Sphinx celerio Linnaeus, 1758
  • Sphinx tisiphone Linnaeus, 1758
  • Phalaena inquilinus Harris, 1780
  • Elpenor phoenix Oken, 1815
  • Deilephila albolineata Montrousier, 1864
  • Hippotion ocys Hübner, 1819
  • Hippotion celerio unicolor Tutt, 1904
  • Hippotion celerio sieberti (Closs, 1910)
  • Hippotion celerio rosea (Closs, 1911)
  • Hippotion celerio pallida Tutt, 1904
  • Hippotion celerio luecki Closs, 1912
  • Hippotion celerio brunnea Tutt, 1904
  • Deilephila celerio augustii (Trimoulet, 1858)

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.

Distribution

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It is found in Africa and central and southern Asia of India, Sri Lanka and, as a migrant in southern Europe and Australia.

Description

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The forewing is typically 28–45 millimetres (1.1–1.8 in) long.

Colouring and marks

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The body and forewing of the adult moth are green and ochre. They have silvery white dots and streaks, with a silvery band running obliquely on the forewing. The hindwing is red near its lower angle (tornus) to pinkish over other parts of the wing. It is crossed by a black bar and black veins. There is greater variation. In f. pallida Tutt the ground coloration is a pale terracotta ground; in f. rosea Closs, the wings have a red suffusion; in f. brunnea Tutt, the suffusion is deep brown. In f. augustei Trimoul, the black markings cover the entire wings; in f. luecki Closs, all silver markings are absent and in f. sieberti Closs, the forewing oblique stripe is yellowish, not silver.

Similar species

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  • Hippotion osiris larger size and lacks the black venation on the hindwing.
  • Hippotion aporodes may be only a very dark subspecies of celerio - in this form, the silvery streak on the forewing is not present but other markings are intensified. In addition, the hindwing is mainly brownish.

Head and thorax as in eson; abdomen with a white spot on each segment between the dorsal white lines; a pair of silvery lateral strigae on each segment. Fore wing paler; some silvery streaks on the median nervure; the nervules beyond the cell streaked with silvery white and black; a silvery-white line from apex to near base of inner margin, followed by some ochreous and pale brown lines; a white submarginal line; the markings are thus similar to oldenlandiae, except that the lines that come out white are different. Hind wing with the base and anal angle bright pink; disk blackish; the outer area ochreous brown, with a black submarginal line and the nervules between it and the cell black. Larva brown; a series of whitish ocelli with darker centers from 4th to 10th somites; horn and underside white.

— The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume I[2]

Biology

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Larva

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Larvae could be green, yellowish green or even brown. They have a dark broken mid-dorsal line and a creamy dorso-lateral line from the fifth segment to the horn. The head is round, and usually a dull green colour. The larva has a horn which is usually long and straight. There is a large yellow and green eyespot on the third segment and a smaller one on the fourth segment.

Larvae typically feed on the leaves of plants such as the grape vine, Cissus, Impatiens and the Arum lily.

References

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  1. ^ Fauna Europaea
  2. ^ 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.
  • Pinhey, E. (1962): Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town.
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