Hyles sammuti
| Hyles sammuti | ||||||||||||
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Hyles sammuti |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hyles sammuti | ||||||||||||
| Eitschberger , Danner & Surholt , 1998 |
Hyles sammuti is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of moth (Sphingidae). It is viewed by Kitching & Cadiou (2000) as an independent species, whereas Pittaway regards it as a subspecies of Hyles tithymali , as the larvae are very similar to Hyles tithymali mauretanica . On the basis of mtDNA investigations , it is considered likely that Hyles sammuti hybridizes to a certain extent with milkweed hawks ( Hyles euphorbiae ), which fly into its range as random visitors.
features
The moths have a wingspan of 63 to 75 millimeters. They have the coloring typical of the genus Hyles and resemble some individuals of Hyles tithymali mauretanica from Morocco.
The eggs are similar to those of Hyles tithymali and are also small, blue-green and have a very hard shell. The caterpillars are 70 to 80 millimeters long. Like the moths, they look very similar to those of Hyles tithymali mauretanica in all stages , but resemble those of H. t in their behavior . tithymali . The doll is a little smaller than that of H. t. tithymali , but otherwise indistinguishable from this one.
Occurrence
The distribution of the species is limited to the main island of Malta , on Gozo it has not been proven. However, there are very similar, closely related populations in Sicily and in southern Italy, the taxonomic position of which is still unclear. The animals colonize dry, stony slopes with heavy milkweed growth .
development
The moths fly in several generations from February to October. In years with little rainfall, only one generation can be formed in autumn. For most years, two generations occur from April to May and September to October. The eggs are laid in groups on the budding leaf tips of the food plants. In wet years, the caterpillars appear from March to December, but are usually most common from September to December. They feed on Euphorbia spinosa , Euphorbia pinea and Euphorbia dendroides . The pupa hibernates; it can also be more than a few years old. The parasitic wasp Peltocarus dentatus has been identified as a parasitoid of the species.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ^ Ian J. Kitching, Jean-Marie Cadiou: Hawkmoths of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Revisionary Checklist (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Cornell University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8014-3734-2
- ↑ a b c d e Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic. AR Pittaway, accessed December 17, 2010 .
- ↑ Anna K. Hundsdoerfer, Ian J. Kitching, Michael Wink: A molecular phylogeny of the hawkmoth genus Hyles (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae, Macroglossinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35 (2005): pp. 442-458
