''Clarina kotschyi'', the grapevine hawkmoth, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, bu ...

. The species was first described by

Vincenz Kollar Vincenz Kollar (15 January 1797 in Kranowitz, Silesia – 30 May 1860 in Vienna) was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Diptera. He was especially concerned with species of economic interest, particularly those of forests. Kollar descr ...

in 1849. It is found from the

Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. It comprises part of the Eurasian Plate and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate; situated between the Zagros ...

and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

to eastern and central

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Adults rest by day amongst the dense foliage of its host plant, or on rocks on the ground. The habitat consists of hillsides up to 2,000 meters and mountain valleys with shrubs, vineyards and isolated trees. It can be very common in some grape-growing areas. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 60–80 mm. It is similar to '' Clarina syriaca'' (which is often treated as a subspecies of ''Clarina kotschyi''), but much larger and the wings not obviously dentate. Adults are on wing from early May to late August in three overlapping generations. The larvae have been recorded feeding on ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...

'', ''

Parthenocissus ''Parthenocissus'' , is a genus of tendril vine, climbing plants in the grape family (biology), family, Vitaceae. It contains about 12 species native plant, native to the Himalayas, eastern Asia and North America. Several are grown for ornamental ...

'' and '' Ampelopsis'' species.

References

Macroglossini Moths of the Middle East Insects of Turkey Moths described in 1849 Taxa named by Vincenz Kollar {{Macroglossini-stub