HYLES STROEHLEI Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998

UK: Hindu Kush Hawkmoth

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

(Taxonomic note. The relationship of Hyles stroehlei to Hyles nervosa (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903) and Hyles robertsi (Butler, 1880) remains to be clarified. The ranges of all three overlap to a certain degree, which may have led to hybrid zones.)

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

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 robertsi (Butler, 1880).

ADULT BIOLOGY

Little known. Found at 2400--4300m.

FLIGHT-TIME

Late June to late July.

EARLY STAGES

Unknown.

PARASITOIDS

Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION

The Hindu Kush mountains and Kohistan (Swat Province), Pakistan (Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998; Rafi et al., 2014; Azan Karam, pers. comm. 2024).

Extra-limital range. None.