''Laothoe populi'', the poplar hawk-moth, 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 species was
first described by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in his 1758
10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found throughout the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
region and the
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
and is one of the most common members of the family in the region.
[Pittaway, 1993, page not cited] It is distinctive due to its habit of resting with its hindwings held further forward than (but still half hidden by) the forewings.
Adults may be seen from May to September, and do not feed, not having a functional proboscis, and can vary in colour from grey to yellow. The larva is green, feeds on poplar and some other tree species, and pupates below ground.
Description
''Laothoe populi'' is a large (
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 ...
), odd-looking species of moth, due to its habit of resting with its hindwings held further forward than (but still half hidden by) the forewings. The species lacks a
frenulum
A frenulum (or frenum, plural: frenula or frena, from the Latin ''frēnulum'', "little bridle", the diminutive of ''frēnum'') is a small fold of tissue that secures the motion of a mobile organ in the body.
In human anatomy
Frenula on the h ...
joining the wings together, and is said to look like a cluster of dead leaves of the main host,
poplar.
When disturbed, the moth will suddenly reveal a bright orange-red basal patch on the hindwing, possibly as a distraction or startle display. The wings are grey marked with darker grey
fascia
A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...
but with the greys occasionally replaced by buffish tones, a form more frequent among females than males. There is a white spot at the distal edge of the cell on the forewings.
Gynandromorphs, half female and half male, are common.
[
Poplar hawk-moths have been known to produce a hybrid when mated with the eyed hawkmoth, '']Smerinthus ocellatus
''Smerinthus ocellatus'', the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''.
The eyespots are not visible in resting position, whe ...
''; the hybrid has eyes on the hindwings.
Life cycle
Joined moths.JPG, Mating pair showing both colour variants
Laothoe_populi_ovi.jpg, Egg
Poplar hawk-moth (Laothoe populi) late instar larva.jpg, late instar larva
Poplar hawk-moth.jpg, Larva
Poplar hawk-moth (Laothoe populi populi) 2.jpg, imago
In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the imaginal stage, the stage in which the insect attains maturity. It follows the f ...
, showing orange-red basal patch on hindwing
Poplar hawk-moth (Laothoe populi populi) 3.jpg, imago, lateral view
One or two broods are produced each year and adults can be seen from May to September. The adults do not feed. The species overwinters as a pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
.
Egg
The egg is large, spherical, pale green, and glossy, and is laid singly or in pairs on the underside of leaves of the host plant.[ Females lay up to 200 eggs.
]
Larva
On first hatching the larva (or "hornworm") is pale green with small yellow tubercules and a cream-coloured tail horn. Later, it develops yellow diagonal stripes on its sides, and pink spiracles. Individuals feeding on willows may become quite heavily spotted with red. Others are more bluish white with cream stripes and tubercules. They are stout bodied, and grow to .[
]
Pupa
The larva pupates in an earthen cell below the surface, near its host plant. It has a short cremaster.[
]
Adult
Although they emerge late at night or early in the morning, the moth flies starting from the second night and is strongly attracted to light. Having no functional proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
, it does not feed.[
]
Host plants
''Laothoe populi'' feeds mainly on poplar and aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
, but sometimes on willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
, alder, apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
, tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
, birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
, elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
, oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
and ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
. The food source used by the moth often depends on location.[
]
Subspecies
*''Laothoe populi populi''
*''Laothoe populi lappona'' (Rangnow, 1935)
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Poplar Hawk-moth on ''UKMoths''
* Description in Richard South ''The Moths of the British Isles''
''Lepiforum e.V.''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q782434
Laothoe (moth)
Moths described in 1758
Moths of Asia
Moths of Europe
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus