''Sphinx caligineus'', the Chinese pine hawkmoth, is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths commonly 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, but species ar ...

. It is known from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, north-eastern, eastern, central and southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, northern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and southern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The

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

is 55–76 mm. The larvae feed on '' Pinus tabulaeformis'' to the west and north of Beijing, as well as the ornamental '' Pinus armandii''. In Guangdong, larvae have been recorded on '' Pinus massoniana''. Other recorded food plants include '' Pinus elliottii'' and '' Pinus taeda''.

Subspecies

*''Sphinx caligineus caligineus'' (Japan) *''Sphinx caligineus brunnescens'' Mell, 1922 (central and southern China) *''Sphinx caligineus sinicus'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903) (north-eastern, eastern and southern China, South Korea, northern Thailand and southern Vietnam)

References

Sphinx (genus) Moths described in 1877 Moths of Japan Taxa named by Arthur Gardiner Butler {{Sphinginae-stub