Sphinx stellatarum Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat. (Edn. 10) 1: 493. Type locality: not stated [Europe].
Wingspan: 40--74mm. A very distinct species confusable only with some freshly emerged Hemaris species which have not yet lost their wing scales. Not prone to much variation though sometimes very pale, albinistic specimens occur, as do individuals with blackish brown abdomens and hindwings (f. subnubila Schultz).
Diurnal. Whilst preferring to fly in bright sunlight, it will also take wing at dawn, at dusk or at night; in rain, or on cool, dull days. Very hot weather tends to induce a state of torpidity in many, with activity then confined to the relative cool of the morning and late afternoon. Whatever the flight-time, this species is very strongly attracted to flowers yielding plentiful supplies of nectar, such as Jasminum, Buddleja, Nicotiana, Tulipa, Primula, Viola, Syringa, Verbena, Echium, Phlox and Stachys, hovering in front of and repeatedly probing each bloom before darting rapidly to the next. A great wanderer, being present right across China from the alpine tree-line to city centres, wherever nectar flowers may be found. Its powers of flight are amazing, and have been studied in detail by Heinig (1987). Apparently, this species also has a fine memory, as individuals return to the same flower-beds every day at about the same time (Pittaway, 1993). (See also Heinig (1981a, 1984).)
When not feeding, pairs in courtship can be seen dashing up and down around steep cliffs, buildings, or over selected stretches of open ground. Pairs in copula can occasionally be found in such locations, although they seldom stay together for more than an hour. Whilst in copula, unlike other hawkmoths, this species is still capable of flight in a manner similar to butterflies. After a further period of feeding, gravid females search for patches of Galium growing in sunny locations. While hovering, each patch is carefully examined, sprig by sprig, before a single ovum is placed amongst the flower-buds. Up to 200 ova may be deposited by each female, therefore egg-laying can take a considerable time.
M. stellatarum is unique among sphingids of the region in overwintering as an adult, although in northern China very few survive. With the onset of cooler weather, individuals can be seen examining caves, rocky crags, empty houses, holes in trees or sheds, before selecting a suitable place for hibernation. This state of torpidity is not absolute, however, for warm days in December and January may bring some out to feed.
China: iii-vi (Zhejiang); iv (Jiangxi); iv-v (Shandong); v (Xinjiang, Yining/Gulja, 1000m); vii (Nei Mongol, Great Khingan Mountains, Zalantun/Butha Qi); 23.vii (Shaanxi); viii (S Gansu, 3100m); 4.viii (Zhejiang); ix (S Gansu, 2400m; Beijing); x (S Gansu, 1800m); x (Shandong; Heilongjiang; Hong Kong); x-xi (Liaoning); xi (S Gansu, 1550m); 29.xi (Hong Kong). South Korea: 11.vii (no locality). Japan: vi (Shikoku); vi-x (Ryukyu Archipelago); viii (Honshu); ix-x (Hokkaido). Russia: 28.ii (Primorskiy Kray); 7.iii (Primorskiy Kray); 4.v (Primorskiy Kray); 16.vi (Siberia); 26.vii (Altai); 16.viii (Primorskiy Kray); 27.viii (Beijing); ix (Primorskiy Kray); 14.x (Primorskiy Kray); xii (Primorskiy Kray).
Park et al. (1999) give early April until late October as the flight period in Korea.
OVUM: Pale green, almost spherical (0.84 x 0.95mm), shiny, smooth, resembling unopened flower-buds of Galium. This stage lasts from six to eight days.
LARVA: Full-fed 45--50mm. Polymorphic.
Newly-hatched larvae are about 2--3mm in length, cylindrical and clear yellow. They eat copiously from the outset and so grow rapidly. In the second instar they assume their green coloration, covered with tiny yellow dots. A dark grey, cream-bordered, dorso-lateral line runs from head to horn, matched by an identical ventro-lateral band. The dorsal heart line is deep green; the tail horn purplish red with an orange tip. This pattern remains to the final instar, with only the predominant colour of the horn changing from reddish to blue with an orange tip. In some, however, the green body colour is entirely replaced by reddish brown, which effectively masks the final, pre-pupation, rich plum coloration.
In the final instar head small and round; horn straight, of medium length, stout at base, tapering evenly to a sharp point. Surface dull, a transverse row of small tubercles along each secondary ring.
Feeding takes place fully-exposed at the top of the plant, with no time preference being shown. When resting, or moulting, most larvae retire to within the bed of tangled stems. With ample food and sunshine, this stage may be as short as 20 days. (See also Heinig (1981a, 1984).)
Can be found throughout the summer months, with two peaks of abundance in the north: one during May and June, the other during August. Larvae are particularly common in the outskirts of Beijing in late August on Rubia clumps growing in unkempt shrubberies. In fact, occurs almost anywhere where Galium and Rubia are present in open situations, i.e. commons, urban parks, field edges, roadside verges, sand-dunes, railway embankments, and even high alpine meadows over its western range.
PUPA: 30--35mm. Pale translucent brownish cream, splashed with darker brown, especially on wings and spiracles. Proboscis prominent, keeled, laterally compressed, black along keel. Surface shiny, slightly shagreened. Cremaster terminating in two sharp spines. Enclosed in a silken cocoon spun low down among the hostplant, or among debris on the ground. Does not overwinter; however, Derzhavets (1984) claims that in Central Asia a proportion of pupae do overwinter.
Larval hostplants. Recorded in China on Stellaria media and Rubia cordifolia (Yang, 1978; Pittaway, pers. obs 2003). Yang (1978) also listed Glycine max, while Chu & Wang (1980) added Panax pseudoginseng var. notoginseng; both records are erroneous. Elsewhere, M. stellatarum is recorded primarily on Rubiaceae and mostly species of Galiumand Rubia.
Recorded in Korea on Rubia akane, Galium dahuricum and G. verum var. asiaticum (Park et al., 1999). The first and the last species are also utilized in Japan.
Unknown for China.
China: Xinjiang (ürümqi; Yining/Gulja); Nei Mongol (Zalantun/Butha Qi); Heilongjiang (Hailin; Lalin); Liaoning (Dalian); Hebei (Yangyuan; Zhengding); Tianjin; Beijing (Haidian; Ming Tombs; Xiangshan); Shandong (Jinan; Qingdao; Tai'an; Weihai); Shanxi (Taiyuan; Xiaxian; Yuncheng); Shaanxi (Huangling; Qinling Shan); Gansu (Min Xian; Beishui Hu; Dangchang); Henan; Shanghai; Zhejiang (Hangzhou; Tian Shan; Mogan Shan); Sichuan (??Chin-chin-kai; Nanchuan); Xizang/Tibet (Mutu, Namjagbarwa region, 850m); Hunan; Jiangxi (Nanchang); Guangdong; Hong Kong.
Kendrick (2002) regards this species as a vagrant to Hong Kong, with only two individuals having been recorded.
Mongolia.
North Korea: South Pyongan Prov. (Pyongyang); Kangwondo Prov. (Keumgang-san); South Hamgyong Prov. (Gyungsung); North Hamgyong Prov. (Jueul; Hoeryong; Samseong-san).
South Korea: Widespread in Seoul; Kyonggi Prov.; Kangwon Prov.; North Chungchong Prov.; South Chungchong Prov.; North Cholla Prov.; South Cholla Prov.; North Kyongsang Prov.; South Kyongsang Prov.; Cheju Prov.
Japan: Hokkaido (Hakodate); Honshu (Fujimi Heights; Kiyusato); Shikoku (Matsuyama); Kyushu; Tsushima; Ryukyu Archipelago (Okinawa; Ishigaki).
Russia: Altai (Cherga; Yailyu); Siberia (Alaevo); Primorskiy Kray (Jankowski Peninsula; Askold Island; Vladivostok; Khasan; Primorskiy); Sakhalin Island.
Resident across the entire northern subtropics of the Old World, with migrants reaching far to the north during summer. Occurs as a migrant across all China (Yang, 1978), with the first adults appearing in Beijing in April. Occasional specimens have been recorded in the tropics (e.g. Hong Kong, South India, Vietnam). These could be migrant individuals, but some may also be misidentifications of other Macroglossum species. A record from Congo-Brazzaville (Rougeot, 1972) was probably an accidental introduction, perhaps from an aeroplane. A single specimen from the University of Washington collection labelled 'Unimak Island' (in the eastern Aleutian Islands) (M.D. van Buskirk, pers. comm.) explains the inclusion of M. stellatarum in the faunal list of the USA (Hodges, 1983).
Holarctic; Palaearctic (both eastern and western subregions). Pleistocene refuge: Polycentric -- probably several refugia, from the Mediterranean to the Sinopacific.
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