Africa Wild Insect Book: Moths (Lepidoptera)

[BluTuna]

Mulberry Hawk Moth Pseudoclanis postica
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Smerinthinae

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Description
Wingspan 72-95 mm, light grey-green forewings.

Distribution
Widespread in Africa south of the Sahara, extending from KwaZulu-Natal and Zimbabwe up into East and West Africa.

Habitat
Open habitats and forest.

Biology
Larval foodplants: Loranthus sp., Ficus natalensis, Ficus sur, Ficus thonningii, Morus alba (Mulberry), Celtis africana, Chaetachme aristata, Trema bracteolata, Trema orientalis.

Links: African Moths

[BluTuna]

Small Verdant Hawk Moth Basiothia medea
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Macroglossinae. Tribe: Macroglossini

© BluTuna

© BluTuna

Description
It is a medium-sized triangular moth. The length of the forewings is 22-25 mm and the wingspan is 49-63 mm. The body is grass green. The forewings are grass green with two or three faint darker green transverse lines. The hindwings are dull orange with a narrow brown margin. The antennae and the eyes are brown.

Distribution
Angola, Burkina Fasso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, DRCongo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, La-Reunion, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Habitat
It is common in open habitats.

Biology
The species is an active migrant.

Links: African Moths

[Toko]

Oriental Bee Hawk Cephonodes hylas virescens
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Macroglossinae

© leachy
Kruger National Park

© PRWIN

© ExFmem
Punda Maria, Kruger National Park

Cephonodes hylas has 4 subspecies: C. h. hylas in Asia, C. h. australis in Australia, C. h. melanogaster in Indonesia and C. h. virescens in Africa, Madagascar and the Seychelles.

Description
Wingspan 70 mm. Broad green thorax leading into the tapered abdomen. Broad red band two-thirds down the body, adjoing yellowish tip to abdomen. Clear triangular wings with black edges and veination. Greyish face and legs. All colours to abdomen and thorax have dark edging, and black 'fans' appear from the tip of the abdomen when in flight.

Distribution
Afrika south of Sahara; Madagascar.

Biology
This species is diurnal.

Links: African Moths

[Toko]

Oleander Hawk-moth Daphnis nerii
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Macroglossinae

© Pumbaa
Kruger National Park, Shingwedzi camp

© pooky
Lake Kariba

Description
Daphnis nerii is olive green, patterned in white and pink with deep red eyes. Wingspan 110 mm.

Distribution
Found in wide areas of Africa and Asia. It is a migratory species.
Algeria, Angola, Burkina Fasso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, DRCongo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, La Reunion, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Biology
Larvae feed on oleander, jasmine & mango.

Links: Wikipedia; African Moths

[BluTuna]

Silver-striped Hawk-Moth, Vine Hawk-Moth Hippotion celerio
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Macroglossinae.

© Richprins
Nelspruit


© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Description
Large moth with powerful streamlined wings. 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.
The forewing is typically 28–35 millimetres (1.1–1.4 in) long.

Larva
Larvae may 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.

Distribution
Hippotion celerio is found in Africa (Algeria, Angola, Burkina Fasso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, DRCongo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, La Reunion, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunis, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) Southern Europe, Central and Southern Asia and Australia. It can be found further north, because of its migratory nature.

Links: Wikipedia; African Moths

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

© pooky
Lake Kariba

© BluTuna
Caterpillar

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

© Pumbaa
Kruger National Park, near Engelhard dam

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/sp ... rnal/26881

[BluTuna]

African Humming Bird Moth Macroglossum trochilus
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Macroglossinae

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Moths in the genus Macroglossum (family Sphingidae) are commonly referred to as ‘hummingbird hawkmoths’ owing to their striking resemblance to the expertly controlled flight of the New World birds, as they hover from flower to flower with pin-point precision and highly rapid wing beats. These small- to medium-sized moths even have specialised, elongated scales fanning out from the tips of their abdomens, analogous to the tail feathers of hummingbirds, which may assist in fine-tuning their aerial maneuvers.

Description
The length of the forewings is 15–18 mm. The antennae are blackish. The head and thorax are pale olive above and very pale buff below. The abdomen is pale olive above and orange laterally. The posterior segments are darker dorsally, with a yellow distal fringe. The anal fan is very dark brown, tipped with buff. The small lateral tufts are dark brown and white. The abdomen is reddish brown below. The forewings are brown with a series of darker transverse bands. The hindwings are orange with a very broad dark reddish brown border. Both wings are brownish red below.

Distribution
South Africa: Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, 'Transvaal'. Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, eSwatini, Zambia, Malawi to Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Angola to equatorial West Africa.

Habitat
A range of veld types, common in gardens.

Biology
It is diurnal. Adults resemble bees, feeding on various tubular flowers.
Macroglossum trochilus uses Galium and Rubia cordifolia as larval foodplants.

Links: African Moths

© Richprins
Macroglossum trochilus hovering while sipping nectar. It gererates lift by moving its wings in a figure eight pattern.
(Nelspruit, July 2020)

[BluTuna]

Comma Nephele Hawk-moth Nephele comma
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Macroglossinae

© BluTuna
Johannesburg

Description
The length of the forewings is 32–39 mm and the wingspan is 76–86 mm. It is a very variable species. Largely green and brown Hawk with a white comma-shaped clear spot in the forewing. Note that form derasa actually lacks the white comma mark on the forewing.
The body and forewings are dark olive green to reddish-brown and to light ochreous-brown. The dorsum of the abdomen is broadly of the same colour as the thorax. There are three large quadrate blackish lateral spots. The forewings have irregular dark transverse bands which are usually much better developed in the olive or ochreous specimens than in the reddish ones. The terminal area has a greyish tinge, usually in distinct contrast with the remainder of the wing and clearly defined proximally by a regular blackish submarginal line running from the apex to the tornus. In the typical form, the stigma is a prominent silvery white reversed comma with its curve towards the base of the wing and its extremities towards the termen.

Distribution
Throughout Africa south of the Sahara as well as adjacent islands.

Habitat
Ubiquitous and abundant.

Biology
Larval host plants in southern Africa are Apocynaceae: Carissa bispinosa (Forest num-num) and Diplorhynchus condylocarpon.
It is perhaps more of an evening flier than nocturnal.

Links: Biodiversity Explorer

[Toko]

Cape Hawk-moth, Grape Vine Hawk Theretra capensis
Family: Sphingidae. Subfamily: Macroglossinae

© mposthumus
Kruger National Park, Tamboti

Description
The length of the forewings is 44–52 mm. Triangular, pale brown-olive wings that broaden towards the tips. Rather variable; upperside of body and wings usually pale olive-green but sometimes all red.
Labial palp segment 1 apical cavity well defined, with no long scales projecting into or over it. Bulbous pale brown thorax, and segmented tapering abdomen. Upperside of abdomen with reddish basal subdorsal patches.
Forewing upperside ground colour usually uniform pale olive-green, although reddish and brownish specimens occur (especially females); discal spot pale red, beyond which and towards the costa, is a darker olive-green shade; fifth postmedian line usually the only conspicuous one, ranging from very thin to quite broad.
Hindwing upperside pale red with an indistinct olive-green or reddish marginal band.
Legs and antennae pale yellow or orange.
Larvae variable, green-brown or pinkish brown with eye-spots.

Distribution
From the Cape to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique and East Africa.

Habitat
It is known from woodland and open habitats.

Biology
Larval foodplants: Vigna, Ampelopsis, Cissus, Rhocissus digitata, Rhocissus tridentata, Rhocissus tomentosa, Vitis vinifera

Links: CATE - Sphingidae; African Moths

[Toko]

Family Eupterotidae (Monkey Moths, Giant Lappet Moths)
Medium to very large moths, fairly easily recognized by very broad, often oval, wings with long hairs on the margins. Wings have dense and long scales, often intricately marked and with a silky sheen. Adults are hairy and plump, ranging in colour from off white through dull yellow to various shades of brown. They have a slow flapping flight, and become immobile if molested. Antennae roughly one third body length. Body large and heavy, covered with thick hairs. Antennae are branched and comb-like, but the branches do not protrude much to the side. Larvae are dark, and densely covered in long fine hairs and short bristles. Little is known about larval habits, but sohave been observed feedime ng on grasses. The flimsy cocoon has long larval hairs woven into it. There are 75 species known from the region, mostly from less arid parts.

[BluTuna]

Phiala Monkey Moth Phiala sp.
Family: Eupterotidae. Subfamily: Eupterotinae

© BluTuna
Kruger National Park

Phiala is a genus of similar species, mainly cream or white with a yellow abdomen. On the fore wing often black marings, dotted lines or widely scattered black speckles. Legs are orange with thin black bands.

Links: Boldsystems - Genus Phiala