GB: Pamir Bee Hawkmoth
Macroglossa ducalis Staudinger 1887, Stettin. ent. Ztg 48: 66.Type locality: Namangan, Transalai [Fergana Valley, western Tian Shan, Uzbekistan].
(Taxonomic note. Subspecies dantchenkoi described by Eitschberger & Lukhtanov (1996) is untenable as it is a redescription of a high-altitude montane form from Tajikistan, namely f. efenestralis Derzhavets (1984).)
Holarctic; western Palaearctic region. Pleistocene refuge: Monocentric -- Turkestan refuge.
Wingspan: 40--50mm. Differs from H. dentata in having the forewing almost fully scaled, the third abdominal segment yellowish white with any brown being confined to lateral tufts, and pulvillus absent. According to Rothschild & Jordan (1903), the male genitalia are rather distinctive; left valva more slender than in H. tityus, approaching that of H. fuciformis; process of left sacculus represented by a conspicuously spinose hump; right valva ventrally slightly emarginate beyond middle; process of right sacculus long, slender, slightly club-shaped, upper surface in apical half armed with long spines. Juxta rather densely covered with long hairs apically; aedeagus rather long, not very sharply pointed. A high-altitude montane form from Tajikistan, f. efenestralis Derzhavets (1984), has the hyaline windows of the forewing partially obscured by dark scales on the side towards the outer wing margin; the windows are completely obscured on the hindwing. In the Ziarat specimen from Pakistan, the forewing hyaline windows are barely visible, being almost totally obscured.
Diurnal. Found in woodland and scrub, rarely below 2300m and occurring up to 4000m. In western Mongolia at 2100m (Yakovlev and Doroshkin, 2005).
Univoltine; late June to early August. In southern Kazakhstan and western Mongolia, usually during the last two weeks of June.
OVUM: Unknown.
LARVA: Full-fed 33--42mm. Early instars undescribed.
According to Degtyareva & Shchetkin (1982), the fully-grown larva resembles that of H. fuciformis: dorsally and laterally pale green with a prominent yellowish white dorso-lateral line running from the first thoracic segment up to a slightly curved caudal horn; however, unlike H. fuciformis, H. ducalis bears a line of pale yellow V-shaped markings dorsally, one per segment but less pronounced on the thoracic segments, all pointing caudad. Ventrally, reddish brown with a fine, light yellow ventro-lateral line separating the dark lower surface from the green sides. Where this line crosses the prolegs it thickens and becomes darker; true legs brownish cream. Horn 5mm long, violet-black at base and whitish green or cream towards the tapering tip. As in H. fuciformis, the rounded head is bluish grey and offset by a cadmium-yellow collar to the first thoracic segment. A line of the same colour also edges the anal flap. The entire head, body and horn are covered with pale tubercles, light yellow dorsally, mostly becoming cream below the dorso-lateral line. Oval spiracles reddish brown and cream.
Found throughout July, August and September.
Hostplants. Most species of Lonicera, such as L. korolkowii, L. nummulariifolia, L. seravschanica and L. stenantha (Danner, Eitschberger & Surholt, 1998).
PUPA: 37mm. Blackish brown, rugose, very similar to that of H. fuciformis. The overwintering stage.
None recorded.
The Gissar Mountains of southern Uzbekistan (Dubatolov, [1999]), southern and eastern Kazakhstan up to the Altai Mountains (Yakovlev and Doroshkin, 2005), Tajikistan (Grum-Grshimailo, 1890; Eitschberger & Lukhtanov, 1996), Kyrgyzstan (North Kirgizsky Mountains), the Bulgan-gol basin of western Mongolia (Yakovlev and Doroshkin, 2005), the Chinese portion of the Tian Shan, the mountains of south-western Xinjiang Province, China (several specimens in BM(NH)), the Pamirs, Ladakh and northern Afghanistan (Ebert, 1969). An isolated population has also been found at Ziarat, near Quetta, Pakistan (one specimen in BM(NH) coll.).
Extra-limital range. None.
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