''Hippotion celerio'', the vine hawk-moth or silver-striped hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''.

Distribution

It is found in Africa and central and southern Asia of India,

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 ...

and, as a migrant in southern Europe and

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 ...

Description

The forewing is typically long. Hippotion celerio MHNT CUT 2010 0 73 Noumea male dorsal.jpg, Male Hippotion celerio MHNT CUT 2010 0 73 Noumea male ventral.jpg, Male underside Hippotion celerio MHNT CUT 2010 0 73 Malaysia female dorsal.jpg, Female Hippotion celerio MHNT CUT 2010 0 73 Malaysia female ventral.jpg, Female underside

Colouring and marks

The body and forewing of the adult moth are green and ochre. They have silvery white dots and streaks, with a silvery band running obliquely on the forewing. The

hindwing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hi ...

is red near its lower angle ( tornus) to pinkish over other parts of the wing. It is crossed by a black bar and black veins. There is greater variation. In f. ''pallida'' Tutt the ground coloration is a pale terracotta ground; in f. ''rosea'' Closs, the wings have a red suffusion; in f. ''brunnea'' Tutt, the suffusion is deep brown. In f. ''augustei'' Trimoul, the black markings cover the entire wings; in f. ''luecki'' Closs, all silver markings are absent and in f. ''sieberti'' Closs, the forewing oblique stripe is yellowish, not silver.

Similar species

*''

Hippotion osiris ''Hippotion osiris'' is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is common throughout most of the Ethiopian Region, including Madagascar and the Seychelles. Occasional vagrants have been recorded from Spain , image_flag = Bandera de Espa� ...

'' larger size and lacks the black venation on the hindwing. *'' Hippotion aporodes'' may be only a very dark subspecies of ''celerio'' - in this form, the silvery streak on the forewing is not present but other markings are intensified. In addition, the hindwing is mainly brownish.

Biology

Larva

Larvae may be green, yellowish green or even brown. They have a dark broken mid-dorsal line and a creamy dorso-lateral line from the fifth segment to the horn. The head is round, and usually a dull green colour. The larva has a horn which is usually long and straight. There is a large yellow and green eyespot on the third segment and a smaller one on the fourth segment. Larvae typically feed on the leaves of plants such as the grape vine, '' Cissus'', ''

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. ...

'' and the '' Arum'' lily.

References

*Pinhey, E. (1962): ''Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa''. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town.

External links

Silver-striped Hawk-moth
at ''UKMoths'' *
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Hippotion Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Oceania Moths of the Middle East Moths of Australia Moths of Borneo Moths of Cape Verde Moths of the Comoros Moths of Iceland Moths of Indonesia Moths of Japan Moths of Korea Moths of Madagascar Moths of Malaysia Moths of Mauritius Moths of New Guinea Moths of New Zealand Moths of Réunion Moths of Seychelles Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Macroglossini-stub