Biology:Rhagastis olivacea

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Short description: Species of moth

Rhagastis olivacea
Rhagastis olivacea BMNHE812989 male up.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Rhagastis
Species:
R. olivacea
Binomial name
Rhagastis olivacea
(Moore, 1872)[1]
Synonyms
  • Pergesa olivacea Moore, 1872

Rhagastis olivacea, the olive mottled hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

Distribution

It is found from north-western India across Nepal, northern Myanmar, northern Thailand and southern China to northern Vietnam.[2]

Description

The wingspan is 72–92 mm. It can be distinguished from all other Rhagastis species by the yellowish-green ground colour of the forewing upperside with narrow and indistinct reddish transverse lines and bands, and a shuttle-shaped marginal area bordered irregularly with bluish-white scales, most strongly at the apex and tornus.

Adults are lachryphagous (meaning they drink tears).[3]

Larvae have been recorded feeding on Impatiens species in India.

References

  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20121024074146/http://www.cate-sphingidae.org/taxonomy/Rhagastis/olivacea.html. Retrieved 2011-10-25. 
  2. Pittaway, A. R.; Kitching, I. J. (2018). "Rhagastis olivacea (Moore, 1872) -- Olive mottled hawkmoth". http://tpittaway.tripod.com/china/r_oli.htm. Retrieved December 17, 2018. 
  3. Bänziger, H. 1992. Remarkable new cases of moths drinking human tears in Thailand (Lepidoptera: Thyatiridae, Sphingidae, Notodontidae). Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 40: 91–102.

Wikidata ☰ Q4494585 entry