Hippotion celerio

Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox 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

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

Description

The forewing is typically long.

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Colouring and marks

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

• 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.

Biology

Larva

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

• Pinhey, E. (1962): Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town.

External links

• Silver-striped Hawk-moth at UKMoths
• Lepiforum e.V.

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