Ambulyx wukong Jiang & Kitching, 2025, Insects, 16: 223(15). Type locality: China, Yunnan, Weixi County, Tacheng, 2350m, 13.v.2013.
Note. The name of new species derives from The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, Sun Wukong, a character from the famous Chinese myth, Journey to the West. It is to be treated as a noun in apposition.
Similar to Ambulyx placida, but larger and the colour tending to be darker. Forewing broader and wider, upperside ground colour brownish-grey, the subbasal black spots much larger than in Ambulyx placida, black discal spot conspicuous, medial area to submarginal area with scattered greyish-brown scales, a black line with brownish-black scales along its margins runs from apex to tornus, marginal area grey; underside—almost the same as the upperside but ground colour ochre, with dense scattered greyish-black scaling. Hindwing upperside yellow with dense scattered black scales, marginal area greyish-yellow; underside almost the same as the upperside but ground colour ochre and pattern paler (Jiang, Kitching, Xu, Xu, Yan, Yu, Liu & Hu, 2025).
Male genitalia similar to that of Ambulyx placida but gnathos bilobed, the two lobes of the sacculus slightly shorter and broader, and on the phallus the sclerotized posterior lobe is sharp and shorter and the tooth on the opposite side is lateral rather than terminal (Jiang, Kitching, Xu, Xu, Yan, Yu, Liu & Hu, 2025).
Little known except that it frequents high-elevation monsoon, evergreen, broad-leaved forest (Jiang, Kitching, Xu, Xu, Yan, Yu, Liu & Hu, 2025).
China: 12-17.v (Yunnan).
OVUM: Unknown.
LARVA: Unknown.
PUPA: Unknown.
Larval hostplants. Unknown.
Unknown.
China: Yunnan (Tacheng, Weixi County, 2350m).
Southern China (southern Yunnan).
Map: Distribution of species of the Ambulyx placida-group: Ambulyx japonica japonica (blue dots); Ambulyx japonica koreana (pink patch); Ambulyx japonica angustifasciata (green dots); Ambulyx placida (ochre squares); Ambulyx semiplacida semiplacida (red dots); Ambulyx semiplacida montana (black dots); Ambulyx semiplacida interplacida (orange patch); Ambulyx semiplacida bhutana (yellow dots); and Ambulyx wukong (purple square). (© Jiang, Kitching, Xu, Xu, Yan, Yu, Liu & Hu, 2025).
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