GB: Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth, F: Sphinx Bourdon, D: Hummelschwärmer, RU: Brazhnik Shmelevidnyi zhimolostnyi, S: Humlelik Dagsvärmare, NL: Glasvleugelige Pijlstaart, CZ: Dlouhozobka ehraztavcová, H: dongószender, E: cristalina borde estrecho, PL: Fruczak bujankowiec, FI: Kuusamakiitäjä.
Sphinx fuciformis Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1: 493.Type locality: Europe.
(Taxonomic notes. (i) Although very close, recent DNA barcoding studies have demonstrated that Hemaris fuciformis jordani from Morocco and Algeria is sufficiently distinct from Hemaris fuciformis fuciformis to warrent subspecific status. However, very similar-looking populations can be found in the montane coniferous forests of southern Spain, central Greece and Turkey. This requires further study.
(ii) The descriptions and illustrations provided by Daniel (1932; 1939) of the Turkish H. fuciformis subsp. syra Daniel, 1939, initially indicated that it could be a form of H. dentata (Staudinger, 1887). However, Daniel (1932) was of the opinion that it was closer to H. fuciformis, although the colour of the thorax and abdomen reminded him more of H. croatica. Danner, Eitschberger & Surholt (1998) treated H. syra as a good species, although they were uncertain of its exact status. Kitching & Cadiou (2000) compared H. syra, H. fuciformis and H. dentata from Turkey and concluded that H. syra probably represented the opposite sex of the sexually dimorphic H. dentata. With the capture of further specimens of both H. syra and H. dentata it is obvious that H. syra is not H. dentata, but in morphology much closer to H. fuciformis. Furthermore, the results of recent DNA barcoding studies indicate that although this taxon is close to H. fuciformis, it is sufficiently distinct to warrent specific status.)
Holarctic; western Palaearctic region. Pleistocene refuge: Polycentric -- Atlantomediterranean and Pontomediterranean refugia.
Wingspan: 38--48mm. Distinguished from Hemaris tityus by a much broader marginal band to the wings; forewing discal cell divided longitudinally by a fold in most examples. More variable than Hemaris tityus: in f. musculus Wallengren, all olive green coloration is replaced by reddish grey; in f. heynei Bartel, black as opposed to normal brown is the dominant colour of the central abdominal belt.
Individuals of Hemaris fuciformis fuciformis resembling Hemaris syra can occasionally be found in Greece and Italy, particularly in the second brood.
Diurnal. In northern Europe, frequents the Lonicera-entwined edges of sunny glades in open woodland. Farther south, displays a marked preference for sand- and chalk hills lightly overgrown with conifers and shrubby honeysuckles, such as L. xylosteum and L. tatarica, where it is often extremely abundant. It was formerly also abundant in many marginal areas (Tatchell, [1926]), but modern practices of woodland management have severely reduced its numbers. Generally avoids open meadows, preferring to fly along woodland margins or rides; however, in Turkey and the Crimea it often breeds in meadows and gardens.
In behaviour, this species closely resembles Hemaris tityus: active by day, usually from about 10.00 hours, it avidly searches along rides and forest edges for the flowers of Rhododendron, Silene, Ajuga, Lychnis and Pulmonaria. Some may even venture into gardens to be seen at Syringa and Phlox. It is in such situations that courtship and pairing take place; the female then takes flight in search of Lonicera growing in partial shade on which to lay her eggs. If disturbed at any time, this species flies off at great speed.
Bivoltine throughout its southern range. In northern Europe, late May to mid-June, with a partial second brood in August; a single generation in June is normal for the mid Urals (Eversmann, 1844), Tian Shan (Grum-Grshimailo, 1890) and higher altitudes in Bulgaria (Ganev, 1984). In the southern Urals, from mid May until early July (Nupponen & Fibiger, 2002).
Two individuals were captured on 21.vi & 10.vii.1964 at Oktyabr'skoe in western Siberia (Ob' River, 62°30'N) (Vladimir Dubatolov, pers. comm 2012).
In October 1994, several adults were observed at Nicotiana blossom in Suffolk, England (Hagget, 1995). These may have been part of an attempt at a partial third brood.
OVUM: Small (1.1 x 1.0mm), pale glossy green, spherical. Laid singly on the underside of the leaves of its hostplant; plants growing in either deep shade or in the open are avoided.
LARVA: Full-fed 40--45mm.
On hatching, the 3mm-long, whitish yellow larva rests along the midrib on the underside of a leaf, occasionally nibbling oval holes in the latter. Most feed at night, resting during daylight hours in a typical sphinx-like attitude. Fully grown, some have reddish spots and blotches bordering the dorso-lateral line and spiracles which, combined with a very rough, tubercled skin, camouflage the larva well. At this stage it generally sits under a twig. If disturbed or alarmed, it will drop to the ground, although not as readily as Hemaris tityus.
In some years brown (illustrated) or golden larval forms can be found, although this is rare. In 1999, 5-10% of larvae near Toulon, France, were so coloured (J.M. Bompar, pers. comm.).
Occurs from mid-June until early August over central and northern Europe, but from May until September farther south.
Major Hostplants. Lonicera spp. in northern Europe, particularly Lonicera periclymenum; in central and southern parts of its range, the shrubby Lonicera nigra, Lonicera xylosteum and Lonicera tatarica are favoured.
Minor Hostplants. Symphoricarpos, Galium, Deutzia and Knautia; in Turkey mainly Cephalaria procera (de Freina, 1979).
PUPA: 23--25mm. Similar to that of Hemaris tityus: blackish brown with glossy highlights and brown, intersegmental cuticle. Formed on the ground in a loosely spun silken cocoon interwoven with debris. The overwintering stage.
Ichneumonidae: Amblyjoppa fuscipennis (Wesmael); Braconidae: Cotesia coryphe (Nixon); Tachinidae: Tachina praeceps Meigen.
Similar to Hemaris tityus, but confined to mountain refugia in southern and central parts of the Iberian Peninsula (Gomez Bustillo & Fernandez-Rubio, 1976; Pérez De-Gregorio et al., 2001), including at 1250m in the Sierra de la Yedra mountains, Granada Province, southern Spain (Rambur, 1942; Perez Lopez, 1989), and at Abacete and Guadalajara (Aistleitner & Aistleitner, 1998): it is present farther north in Navarra Province, but rare (Cifuentes, 1997). Otherwise, from Spain through Europe to the Ukraine (Plyushch & Sheshurak, 1997), Crimea (Efetov & Budashkin, 1990), Urals, northern Kazakhstan (Danner, Eitschberger & Surholt, 1998; Dubatolov, [1999]), western Siberia (Eversmann, 1844; Izerskiy, 1999) and the Altai Mountains (Zolotarenko, Petrova & Shiryaev, 1978; Izerskiy, 1999). Also central Greece, northern Turkey (Daniel, 1932; Daniel, 1939; de Freina, 1979), the Caucasus, northern Afghanistan (Ebert, 1969) and the Tian Shan of Tajikistan (Alpheraky, 1882; Grum-Grshimailo, 1890; Derzhavets, 1984). Absent from Ireland (Lavery, 1991), Scotland (Gilchrist, 1979), northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia; however, recorded as far north as Izhma in european Russia (Tatarinov, Sedykh & Dolgin, 2003), Oktyabr'skoe in western Siberia (Ob' River, 62°30'N) (Vladimir Dubatolov, pers. comm 2012), as well as from Sardinia and Sicily.
[It is possible that all populations of H. fuciformis fuciformis reported from northern Turkey are, in fact, Hemaris syra, and that H. fuciformis fuciformis does not occur in Turkey; however, individuals have been confirmed from northern Iran.]
Extra-limital range. From the Altai Mountains, Pamirs, Hindu Kush, and the Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh, India (Moore, 1888), eastwards across southern Siberia (Eversmann, 1844; Zolotarenko, Petrova & Shiryaev, 1978; Izerskiy, 1999), southern Yakutia (Kaimuk et al., 2005) and Transbaikalia to the Russian Far East (Izerskiy, 1999), and Sakhalin Island (Chistyakov & Belyaev, 1984; Dubatolov, 1991).
Records from South Korea (Kim et al., 1982; Kim, Tshistjakov & Kwon, 1999) are misidentifications of Hemaris affinis (Bremer, 1861), a distinct species occurring in Japan, the Russian Far East and northeastern China (Chu & Wang, 1980b).
The Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria as Hemaris fuciformis jordani (Clark, 1927). 'Subsp.' ganssuensis Grum-Grshimailo, 1891 from Xizang Province/Tibet is the eastern palaearctic Hemaris affinis.
Return to species list