Platysphinx piabilis
| Platysphinx piabilis | ||||||||||||
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Illustration of Platysphinx piabilis |
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| Platysphinx piabilis | ||||||||||||
| ( Angas , 1849) |
Platysphinx piabilis is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of hawkmoths (Sphingidae).
features
The strongly built moths have a fore wing length of 43 to 65 millimeters. The front wings are very variable in color. There is a pale form in which the body and fore wings are pale straw in color, and the orange hind wings are speckled with red dots. They also each have a large, black spot on the base of the wing. In the dark form, the forewings are yellowish-pink with gray spots or bands, and on the hind wings the red dots often connect with one another. Rarely one can also observe individuals with completely dark brown, greenish brown or violet brown forewings and completely red colored hind wings. The females grow larger than the males and have tapered forewing tips.
The caterpillars have a green, triangular head with yellow stripes that also extend to the thorax . The body is pale green with a dark green back line and seven yellow diagonal stripes on the sides, some of which are bordered in white or magenta. At the base of the anal horn there is a small, black dotted and black bordered spot. The short anal horn is yellow with golden pustules. However, the color of the caterpillars is variable. In the literature, for example, those with an orange or pale blue-green color are mentioned, whereby the side stripes can also be of different strengths.
distribution and habitat
The species colonizes large parts of tropical and subtropical Africa. The species lives in open habitats, such as the Bushveld in South Africa.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on Ostryoderris stuhlmanni and species of the genera Millettia and Mundulea , as well as Pterocarpus and Craibia .
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g 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 978-1770070615 .
literature
- Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths, Alan Weaving: Field Guide to Insects of South Africa . New Holland Publishers, 2004, ISBN 978-1770070615 .
- Elliot Pinhey : Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town 1962.
