SMERINTHUS SZECHUANUS (Clark, 1938) -- Sichuan eyed hawkmoth

Male Smerinthus szechuanus, Mengla, Yunnan, China. Photo: © Jarek Bury

TAXONOMY

Anambulyx szechuanus Clark, 1938, Proc. New Engl. zool. Club 17: 43. Type locality: Southwestern China, Szechuan [Sichuan], Mt Omei [Emei Shan], 9000'.

Synonym. Smerithus [sic] litulinea Zhu & Wang, 1997, Fauna Sinica, Insecta 11: 272. Type locality: China, Sichuan, ??Yahongmu.

Note. The original Chinese description of S. litulinea incorrectly stated that the type locality was Yunnan, while the English description and the holotype label (in Chinese) give Sichuan. However, we were unable to find the locality 'Yahongmu' on any map or in any gazetteer.


ADULT DESCRIPTION AND VARIATION

No information available.


Resting Smerinthus szechuanus, China. Photo: © Viktor Sinjaev. Resting Smerinthus szechuanus, Meigu, Sichuan, China. Photo: © Viktor Sinjaev.

ADULT BIOLOGY

Unknown.


FLIGHT-TIME

China: iv-vi (Yunnan); 15-20.v (Chongqing; Sichuan); vi (Guangxi); 10.vi-13.vii (Sichuan); vii (Hunan); 16.ix (Hunan).


EARLY STAGES

OVUM: Unknown.

LARVA: Unknown.

PUPA: Unknown.

Larval hostplants. Unknown.


PARASITOIDS

Unknown.


LOCAL DISTRIBUTION

China: Hubei (Xingshan, 1300m); Sichuan (Emei Shan, 2700m; Meigu; ??Yahongmu; Maipu; Longcanggou); Chongqing (Simian Mountain National Scenic Resort, 1060m); Yunnan (Mengla; Gaoligong Shan; Dabaoshan); Hunan (Fenghuang; Yangming Shan, 1600m); Guangdong (north); Guangxi (Maoer Shan, 1800m).


GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

Southern China, Laos (Houaphan Province, 1800m, 29.v.2014, (Alexandre Teynié, pers. comm. 2017)), and south to central Vietnam (Le & Vu, 2024).


Global distribution of Smerinthus szechuanus. Map: © NHMUK.

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFILIATION

Holarctic; eastern Palaearctic region. Pleistocene refuge: Monocentric -- Sinoeremic refugium.



Return to Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic species list
© A. R. Pittaway & I. J. Kitching (Natural History Museum, London)