ACOSMERYX FORMOSANA ARUNACHALENSIS Haxaire & Melichar, 2023 -- Southern gliding hawkmoth

Male Acosmeryx formosana arunachalensis, Maku, Dulongjiang, Yunnan, China. Photo: © Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025.

TAXONOMY

Acosmeryx formosana arunachalensis Haxaire & Melichar, 2023, European Entomologist, 15: 118. Type locality: India, Arunachal Pradesh, road Roing-Hunli, 28°18'20"N 95°55'17"E, 1983m, v.2019.


ADULT DESCRIPTION AND VARIATION

Very similar to Acosmeryx formosana formosana, however, the male is larger and with a paler, more greyish coloration. The transverse black-brown band crossing the forewing distal to the discal cell is less prominent. The female is similar to the male, with broader wings and a slightly darker and more extensive ground pattern; antennae noticeably slenderer (Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025).

The male genitalia very similar to those of the nominotypical subspecies, but distinguished by a sharper and more slender harpe. Additionally, the right process of the transverse apical phallus is noticeably longer and more tapered (Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025).


Male Acosmeryx formosana arunachalensis, Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India, 24.iv.2012. Photo: © Sanjay Sondhi.

ADULT BIOLOGY

Inhabits middle elevation evergreen broad-leaf forest (Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025).


FLIGHT-TIME

China: 6-26.vi (Yunnan).


EARLY STAGES

OVUM: Unknown.

LARVA: Unknown.

PUPA: Unknown.

Larval hostplants. Unknown.


PARASITOIDS

Unknown.


LOCAL DISTRIBUTION

China: Yunnan (Bapo, Dulongjiang, 1312m; Maku, Dulongjiang, 1248-1270m).


GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

Northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh) and southern China (Yunnan).


Global distribution of Acosmeryx formosana arunachalensis. Map: © Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025.

Map: Global distribution of Acosmeryx formosana arunachalensis (© Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025).


BIOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFILIATION



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© A. R. Pittaway & I. J. Kitching (Natural History Museum, London)