Panacra mydon Walker, 1856, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus. 8: 155. Type locality: [Bangladesh,] Silhet [Sylhet].
Wingspan: 53--62mm.
Attracted to the flowers of Duranta erecta and Ixora.
China: iii-ix (Hong Kong); vi (Sichuan); vi (Guangdong); 3.x (Tengchong).
Kendrick (2002) states that this common moth is multivoltine in Hong Kong, occurring from March until late July and again in late September, with peaks in March and May.
OVUM: Yellowish-green, the bright orange of the young larva showing through before hatching (Bell & Scott, 1937).
LARVA: Full-fed 95mm., width 8mm., horn 5mm. According to Bell & Scott (1937), in the first instar the body is long and thin; the horn straight, of medium length. Head and body orange, horn greyish-black. In the second instar, the body surface is smooth and shiny, with the head and body being translucent pale green, the horn black.
In the third and fourth instar the body stays long and thin, but segment six becomes tumid. The horn is now long and straight. The surface of the head and body is smooth and dull and pale yellowish-green in colour. There is an oval, longitudinal, black eye-spot on segment six. The horn is black above, but pale green laterally and centrally.
In the fifth instar the shape is as in others of the genus. The horn is thick at its base, tapering sharply to a blunt point; basal half at right angles to dorsum of larva, distal half bent sharply downwards. Body smooth and dull, excepting the eye-spot and the band above it, which are shiny as though enamelled, and the horn, which is shiny and covered with small tubercles.
In colour, head bright green, body pale yellowish-green. Segments 4 and 6 bright green on dorsum, marked with longitudinal white dashes. A dark green, narrow, dorsal stripe runs from segments 2 to 5, with a pinkish stripe on each side of it on 5. There is an oval, longitudinal eye-spot on segment 6. This is black above, reddish-brown below, the reddish-brown portion being outlined by a narrow pale band, the whole edged by a narrow blackish line. Above the eye-spot, and touching it, there is a broad white band with a bright red quadrate spot in the centre of it. A broad, brown subdorsal stripe starts from the front margin of 2, runs across 3 and 4, then below the eye-spot on 5, then turns up to the dorsum along the hind edge of 5, this stripe being edged below by a narrow pale stripe. A brown spiracular stripe runs from the spiracle on segment 6 to the hind margin of 11. This stripe narrows at the spiracles, but widens between them. Segment 13 and anal flap brown, with a broad, green, dorsal stripe from base of horn to tip of flap. Segments 6 to 12 are sometimes immaculate except for the spiracular band, or marked with irregular brown patches. When reared in the dark the brown colour may spread over the whole of these segments. Horn orange; true legs pink, prolegs green. Spiracles black edged broadly with white.
When alarmed, the larva retracts the head and anterior segments into segment 5, and expands that segment to show the eye-spots, which are not visible in the resting position (Bell & Scott, 1937).
PUPA: 50mm., width 10mm. Very similar to that of E. busiris. Cremaster broadly triangular, dorsal surface rounded, ventral surface deeply, longitudinally concave, ending in a stout shaft which branches near base, each branch ending in two hooks. There are two shorter shafts, each with a single hook, on each side of base of central shaft (Bell & Scott, 1937).
Larval hostplants. Alocasia odora (Araceae) in Hong Kong (Tennent, 1992). Colocasia, Caladium, Arisaema and Amorphophallus (Araceae) elsewhere (Inoue, Kennett & Kitching, [1996] 1997).
Unknown.
China: Sichuan (Zhongjiang); Chongqing; Yunnan (Cangyuan; Menglun; Tengchong, 1800m); Guangdong (Guangzhou; E. Nan Ling; ??Wai-tzi-san); Hong Kong (North Point; Shau Kei Wan); Guangxi (Miao Ling); Hainan (Jianfeng).
Nepal, northeastern India, Bangladesh, Burma/Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia.
Return to Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic species list