''Rodolphia'' is a genus of

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 ...

s in the family Sesiidae containing only one species, ''Rodolphia hombergi'', which is known from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. The species Rodolphia hombergi is highly distinctive and sexually dimorphic. The four Bekily specimens under examination are part of a sizable homogenous series that was captured at the same location and time. There is no question about the conspecificity of the females in this series because they closely resemble the female holotype in terms of size and coloring. This series was also the basis for Viette's description of the male. Malgassesia pauliani Viette, 1955 syn. nov. male holotype is a very damaged, greasy specimen. It can be challenging to tell, but the labial palps, wings, and abdomen are identical in structure and color to the males from Bekily. Additionally, all of the specimens under examination were collected in southern Madagascar, fewer than 180 kilometers away from one another.

References

Sesiidae Moths of Madagascar Moths of Africa Moths described in 1911 {{Sesiidae-stub