''Hippotion boerhaviae'', the pale striated 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.

Distribution

It is known from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, south-eastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(Hong Kong and Guangdong),

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

Description

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 50–68 mm. Hippotion boerhaviae MHNT CUT 2010 0 263 Ban Kheum Laos female dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal Hippotion boerhaviae MHNT CUT 2010 0 263 Ban Kheum Laos female ventral.jpg, Female ventral

Biology

Adults sometimes visit flowers. They may travel long distances, either voluntary or involuntary. The larvae mainly feed on ''

Oldenlandia ''Oldenlandia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is pantropical in distribution and has about 240 species.Inge Groeninckx, Steven Dessein, Helga Ochoterena, Claes Persson, Timothy J. Motley, Jesper Kårehed, Birgitta Bre ...

'' and ''

Spermacoce ''Spermacoce'' or false buttonweed is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises about 275 species found throughout the tropics and subtropics. Its highest diversity is found in the Americas, followed by Africa, Australia a ...

'' species. In India, they have been recorded on ''

Impatiens ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus ''Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family Balsaminaceae. ...

'' species, '' Spermacoce stricta'', '' Spermacoce hispida'', '' Glossostigma spathulatum'', ''

Boerhavia repens ''Boerhavia'' is a genus of over 100 species in the Nyctaginaceae family. The genus was named for Herman Boerhaave, a Dutch botanist, and the genus name is frequently misspelled "''Boerhaavia''". Common names include spiderlings and hogweeds. T ...

'' and ''

Boerhavia diffusa ''Boerhaavia diffusa'' is a species of flowering plant in the Nyctaginaceae, four o'clock family which is commonly known as punarnava (meaning that which rejuvenates or renews the body in Ayurveda), red spiderling, spreading hogweed, or tarvine. ...

''. The host plant is ''

Pentas lanceolata ''Pentas lanceolata'', commonly known as Egyptian starcluster, is a species of flowering plant in the madder family, Rubiaceae that is native to much of Africa as well as Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Repu ...

'' in Australia. The larvae are green with black and white spots along each side. The pupa is silvery brown, with a row of black spots along each side.

References

Hippotion Moths described in 1775 Moths of Japan Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Macroglossini-stub