HYLES STROEHLEI Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998

UK: Hindu Kush Hawkmoth

Hyles stroehlei Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998, Herbipoliana 4(1): 218.

Type locality: 5Km east of Laspur (4300m), Shandur Pass, Hindu Kush, Pakistan.


BIOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFILIATION

Holarctic; western Palaearctic region. Pleistocene refuge: Unknown -- its present-day distribution suggests an origin within the Afghan secondary centre in the Turkestan refuge.


ADULT DESCRIPTION AND VARIATION

Male Hyles stroehlei, Shandur Pass, Hindu Kush, Pakistan. Photo: © HNHM. Male Hyles stroehlei, Shandur Pass, Hindu Kush, Pakistan. Photo: © HNHM.

Wingspan: 55--70mm. Although it resembles a dark hybrid between Hyles hippophaes (Esper, 1789) and Hyles euphorbiae (Linnaeus, 1758), the number of specimens caught over some years (and mtDNA studies (Hundsdörfer, Rubinoff, Attié, Wink & Kitching, 2009)) indicates that it is a valid species. Some specimens may resemble Hyles euphorbiae robertsi (Butler, 1880).


ADULT BIOLOGY

Little known. Found at 2400--4300m.


FLIGHT-TIME

Late June to early July.


EARLY STAGES

Unknown.


PARASITOIDS

Unknown.


DISTRIBUTION

The Hindu Kush mountains and Kohistan (Swat Province), Pakistan (Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998; Rafi et al., 2014).

Extra-limital range. None.


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