NEOGURELCA MONTANA (Rothschild & Jordan, 1915)

Male Neogurelca montana. Photo: © BMNH

TAXONOMY

Gurelca montana Rothschild & Jordan, 1915, Novit. zool. 22: 289. Type locality: [China,] Tibet [probably western Yunnan/Sichuan].


ADULT DESCRIPTION AND VARIATION

Wingspan: 44mm.


ADULT BIOLOGY

According to Mell (1922b), this species is fairly common between July and October at 2000-2400 feet altitude on grassy slopes.


FLIGHT-TIME

July to October


EARLY STAGES

OVUM:

LARVA: According to Bell & Scott (1937), in the final instar horn of medium length, slightly up-curved, tip broadly bifid.

Head green with a white stripe separating face from cheek. Body green with a whitish subdorsal stripe from segment 2 to base of horn and thence on to 13, enclosing a rust-brown dorsal patch behind horn. There are pale oblique lateral stripes, the angles formed by the junction of the oblique stripes with the subdorsal stripe filled in with rusty-red, and the subdorsal stripe edged above with rusty-red near these junctions. Horn slate-colour with a pale ring beyond the middle. True legs reddish venter rust-brown on 2 to 4. Spiracles black with a white, dumbbell-shaped central slit.


Full-grown green form larva of Neogurelca montana. Image: Mell, 1922b

PUPA:

Larval hostplants. In India on Paederia tomentosa (Rubiaceae) (Bell & Scott, 1937).


Paederia scandens, Beijing, China. Photo: © Tony Pittaway.

PARASITOIDS


LOCAL DISTRIBUTION

China: Hebei (Xuanhua); Yunnan (Yanmen).


GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

Endemic to central/southwestern China.


Global distribution of Neogurelca montana. Map: © BMNH.

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFILIATION



Return to Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic species list
© A.R. Pittaway & I.J. Kitching (The Natural History Museum, London)