Sphinx velox Fabricius, 1793, Ent. Syst. 3 (1): 378. Type locality: "India orientali".
Wingspan: 54--76mm.
The moth has been caught at flowers after dark, but does not appear to be attracted by light (Bell & Scott, 1937).
China: 29.v (Hong Kong); 19.x (Yunnan). Taiwan. iii-v (Kaohsiung Hsien); iv (Kaohsiung Hsien; Pingtung Hsien); vii (Pingtung Hsien). Japan: 18-24.iv (Ryukyu Archipelago); 12.x (Ryukyu Archipelago).
OVUM:
LARVA: Full-fed 60mm, width 12mm, horn 7mm. According to Bell & Scott (1937), in the first instar yellowish-white, becoming green after feeding, with a short, straight, black horn.
In the final instar, head small and round; clypeus triangular, one-half length of head; false clypeus with apex acute; labrum one-half length of clypeus, narrowing frontad; ligula as long as labrum, broader than front margin of labrum, kidney-shaped, the lobes rather broad; cutting-edge of mandible slightly waved. Surface of head slightly shiny, smooth with very minute hairs. Body dull and smooth; segments 4 and 5 very swollen. Horn straight, rather short and stout, evenly tapering, dull, and covered with minute, conical, setiferous tubercles.
There are green and dark forms. In the green form, head and body bright grass-green, body with a transverse row of obscure yellow dots along each secondary ring. There is a narrow, neutral tinted dorsal stripe from segment 6 to base of horn, darker at the front margin of each segment. A longitudinally oval eye-spot occurs dorso-laterally near the front margin of 6, which is yellow irregularly centred with plum-colour. Horn violet, paler at base, darker at tip. True-leg basal segments whitish, second and third dark purple, claw black; prolegs green, feet soiled whitish. Spiracles narrowly oval, whitish with a broad, diffuse brown band across the middle (Bell & Scott, 1937).
In the dark form the head is smoky-brown; body yellowish-white with short, black or dark brown, parallel lines on each secondary ring; a narrow black dorsal stripe on 2 to 4, appearing only as a black spot at the front margin of the remaining segments. There is a broad, pale yellow, dorso-lateral stripe on 2 to 4 appearing again on 6 to 11 as a short length only on each segment, continuous again on 12 to base of horn. The eye-spot on 5 with dark brown centre, bordered narrowly with first pale yellow, then black. There are pale, narrow, oblique stripes on 6 to 11, and a similar subspiracular stripe, the angles between this stripe and the oblique stripe filled in with brown speckled with white. Horn blackish-brown; the tip and sides of base paler.
In the last instar the larva rests on the stem and hidden among the leaves. In the resting position the horn is held horizontally, but when the larva is moving it is bent forwards over the dorsum at each forward movement of the claspers (Bell & Scott, 1937).
PUPA: 48mm, width 11 mm. Bone-coloured, closely spotted and speckled with brown and some black dots. Tongue-case brown, paler basally, the edge whitish; bases of legs and veins of wings dotted with black; shoulder fuscous; abdomen with a broad greenish, dorsal stripe; a narrow, interrupted, black ventral stripe; a broad, interrupted, black latero-ventral stripe; spiracles, and a patch round each and cremaster black. Tongue-case projecting slightly in front of head, more projecting ventrally, semicircular in a side-view, narrow, its edge finely channelled. Antenna slightly shorter than fore leg, which reaches to one-third length of wing-case, mid-leg to one-half; a short, narrow coxal piece. Surface slightly shiny, head, thorax and wing-ease superficially shagreened; front bevel of segment 9 with a series of ridges -parallel with the margins of the bevel, bevels of 10 and 11 tuberculate; the surface of the pupa round the spiracles of 8 to 10 striate; 13 and 14 pitted as well as shagreened. Spiracle of 2 a narrow slit, the hind margin of 2 slightly raised in front of it, the front margin of 3 thickened behind it. Remaining spiracles elongate-oval, flush, central slit with a narrow rim. Cremaster triangular, ending in two long, nearly parallel shafts, each shaft with two minute hooks at tip and one on each side at the middle; lower surface of cremaster deeply hollowed (Bell & Scott, 1937).
Larval hostplants. Many species in the genera Pisonia, Alocasia, Brassica, Ipomoea and Morinda. In India on Pisonia morindifolia and P. aculeata (Nyctaginaceae). These shrubs, both known locally in India as the 'lettuce tree' owing to the leaves resembling those of the lettuce, are grown in gardens in Bombay, Belgaum and other places (Bell & Scott, 1937).
China: Yunnan (Yingjiang, 1680m); Hong Kong (Lantau Island); Guangxi (Longshen); Hainan (Xisha Island).
Taiwan: Kaohsiung Hsien (nr. Tuona, 12km SE of Shanping, 750m; Shanping, 640m; Liukuei); Pingtung Hsien (Kenting).
Japan: Ryukyu Archipelago (Ishigaki; Okinawa).
Virtually the entire Oriental and Australasian biogeographical regions, i.e. from India to Australia, New Caledonia and Fiji, and north to Hong Kong, Taiwan and southern Japan.
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