NEPHELE HESPERA (Fabricius, 1775)

TAXONOMY

Sphinx hespera Fabricius, 1775, Syst. Ent.: 546. Type locality: "India orientali".

Synonym. Sphinx didyma Fabricius, 1775, Syst. Ent.: 543. Type locality: "India orientali".

ADULT DESCRIPTION AND VARIATION

Wingspan: 70--86mm. The silver markings on the wings can be present or absent in both sexes.

ADULT BIOLOGY

FLIGHT-TIME

China: vi (Yunnan); 19.x-xi (Hong Kong); 7.xii (Macau).

Kendrick (2002) states that this species may only be a vagrant or rare migrant to Hong Kong.

EARLY STAGES

OVUM: Pale green, slightly oval (1.4 x 1.6mm), shiny and smooth.

LARVA: Full-fed 70mm.

PUPA: 66mm.

Larval hostplants. Carissa carandas (Apocynaceae) in India (Bell & Scott, 1937).

PARASITOIDS

LOCAL DISTRIBUTION

China: Hubei (Lichuan); Sichuan (Xiushan); Yunnan (Mengzi; Laojun Shan, 2579m; nr. Yingjiang, Xima, 2080m); south Xizang/Tibet (Mutu, Namjagbarwa region, 850m; Zhangmu, 2200m; Yi'ong, 2700m; Nyalam, 2250m); Hong Kong (Lantau Island); Macau.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Burma/Myanmar, the Andaman Islands, southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia (Peninsular), Indonesia (Sumatra, Java). There are also odd records from Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, southern New Guinea and northeastern Australia.

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFILIATION