Lophostethus dumolinii
| Lophostethus dumolinii | ||||||||||||
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Illustration by Lophostethus dumolinii |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lophostethus dumolinii | ||||||||||||
| ( Angas , 1849) |
Lophostethus dumolinii is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of moth (Sphingidae).
features
The strongly built moths have a fore wing length of 47 to 78 millimeters. Their basic color is variable and ranges from a light red-brown to a light gray-brown or a very dark brown (forma carteri ). They are mostly light brown, with a large dark brown area on the forewings that includes a white arrow characteristic of the species and an equally colored point. The legs are dark brown, the antennae are white. A wide, irregular black band runs along the head and thorax . The outer edge of the forewing is irregularly wavy.
The caterpillars have a green colored head with black stripes. The pale whitish or yellowish green body is provided with black-blue thorns on each segment, which make the species unmistakable. The anal horn is also black-blue. There is a creamy yellow-colored stain below the lateral spines.
distribution and habitat
The species colonizes large parts of tropical and subtropical Africa. In Uganda , the Congo and West Africa , the dark brown color variant is the most common. Lophostethus dumolinii inhabits different habitats with dense bush vegetation.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on linden-leaved marshmallow ( Hibiscus tiliaceus ), Hibiscus panduraeformis , Dombeya , wax trees ( Carissa ), African baobab ( Adansonia digitata ) and Grewia occidentalis .
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Elliot Pinhey : Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town 1962.
- ^ A b c d Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths, Alan Weaving: Field Guide to Insects of South Africa . New Holland Publishers, 2004, ISBN 1-77007-061-3 .
literature
- Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths, Alan Weaving: Field Guide to Insects of South Africa. New Holland Publishers, 2004, ISBN 1-77007-061-3 .
- Elliot Pinhey: Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town 1962.
