MARUMBA ECHEPHRON (Boisduval, [1875])

Female Marumba echephron. Photo: © NHMUK Male Marumba echephron. Photo: © NHMUK

TAXONOMY

Smerinthus echephron Boisduval, [1875], In: Boisduval & Guenée, Hist. nat. Insectes (Spec. gén. Lépid. Hétérocères) 1: 21. Type locality: Japan.

Synonym. Triptogon roseipennis Butler, 1875, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1875: 257-258.

Synonym. Smerinthus heynei Austaut, 1892, Naturaliste (2)6: 68-69.

Synonym. Smerinthus maasseni Staudinger, 1892, Mém. Lép. 6: 236.

Note. Previously regarded as a subspecies of Marumba gaschkewitschii (Bremer & Grey, 1853). Now considered to be a distinct species (Eitschberger, 2012), although the differences used to separate it from M. gaschkewitschii are small (Eitschberger & Aoyama, 2014).

[Further details on this species in Japan, as well as photos of many stages, can be found on Digital Moths of Japan.]


ADULT DESCRIPTION AND VARIATION

Resting Marumba echephron, Japan. Photo: © Kenichiro Nakao.

ADULT BIOLOGY


FLIGHT-TIME

Japan: 14.v-29.vii (Honshu); 25.v-7.viii (Hokkaido); 26.v (Shikoku); 23.vii (Tsushima).


EARLY STAGES

OVUM: Pale, translucent jade green at first, but developing a yellow sheen; oval (2.00 x 1.4mm), shiny and smooth.


Egg of Marumba echephron, Japan. Photo: © Tony Pittaway.

LARVA:

Full-grown green form larva of Marumba echephron, Japan. Photo: © Kenji Yamamoto. Full-grown green form larva of Marumba echephron, Tottori, Honshu, Japan. Photo: © Sune Hauch. Full-grown yellow form larva of Marumba echephron, Tottori, Honshu, Japan. Photo: © Sune Hauch.

PUPA:

Larval hostplants. Recorded from many species of Prunus, including Prunus armeniaca, Prunus grayana, Prunus japonica, Prunus mume, Prunus salicina as well as Eriobotrya japonica, Kerria japonica, Malus halliana and Malus pumila. There are also reports of Buxus microphylla, Euonymus alatus and Weigela coraeensis.


PARASITOIDS


LOCAL DISTRIBUTION

Japan: Hokkaido (Kushiro); Honshu (Nashimoto; Tokyo; Yokohama; Nii-jima; Fujisawa; Bushi; Mitsunime; Kiyosato, 1300m; Tottori; Otsuki; Akashina); Shikoku (Shioemachi); Kyushu; Tsushima (Izuhara); Yakushima.


GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

Endemic to Japan.


Global distribution of Marumba echephron. Map: © NHMUK.

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFILIATION



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© A. R. Pittaway & I. J. Kitching (Natural History Museum, London)