Macroglossum hirundo

Macroglossum hirundo is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Society Islands, Australia (the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales),[2] Papua New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.[3]

Macroglossum hirundo
Macroglossum hirundo male dorsal
Macroglossum hirundo male ventral
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Macroglossum
Species:
M. hirundo
Binomial name
Macroglossum hirundo
Synonyms
  • Leucostrophus hirundo
  • Macroglossa cinerascens Butler, 1884
  • Macroglossa belinda Pagenstecher, 1900
  • Macroglossum tinnunculus Boisduval, 1875
  • Macroglossum navigatorum Rebel, 1915
  • Rhamphoschisma scottiarum R. Felder, 1874
  • Macroglossum hirundo vitiense Rothschild & Jordan, 1903
  • Macroglossum hirundo tonganum Gehlen, 1930
  • Macroglossum hirundo samoanum Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
  • Macroglossum hirundo interrupta Closs, 1911

The wingspan is about 40 mm. Adults have light and dark brown forewings, with a pale bar across the middle of each. The hindwings are yellow with a broad black border.

They larvae feed on various Rubiaceae species, including Canthium odoratum, Coelospermum reticulatum, Coprosma repens, Morinda jasminoides, Myrmecodia beccarii, Pavetta australiensis and Psychotria loniceroides. The larvae are initially green with a black forward curving spine on the tail. Later, they can become pale brown or green, covered in small white dots. There is a dark dorsal line which may be fragmented into a line of dashes. A pair of pale dorso-lateral lines run from the head to the tail.

Subspecies
  • Macroglossum hirundo hirundo
  • Macroglossum hirundo errans Walker, 1856 (Papua New Guinea)
  • Macroglossum hirundo lifuensis Rothschild, 1894 (New Caledonia)

References
  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  2. "Australian Insects". Lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  3. "Papua Insects Foundation". Papua-insects.nl. Retrieved 2011-10-25.


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