Sphingonaepiopsis nana
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Sphingonaepiopsis nana |
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| Sphingonaepiopsis nana | ||||||||||||
| ( Walker , 1856) |
Sphingonaepiopsis nana is a butterfly ( moth ) fromthe swarm family (Sphingidae).
features
The moths have a wingspan of 25 to 30 millimeters and are therefore very small for swarmers. Due to the small size, the brown color and the blunt wing shape, which is atypical for hawkers, it is difficult to assign the species optically to the hawks without closer inspection.
The spherical, pale green eggs are small, but no size information can be found in the literature. The caterpillars reach a body length of 40 millimeters and come in a green, reddish and whitish color variant. Adult caterpillars are usually green and have a white longitudinal line on the side with an orange-brown border. Your anal horn is thin and straight. In the similar caterpillars of Sphingonaepiopsis ansorgei it is laterally flattened and slightly spatulate.
The doll is similar in shape to that of the genus Hyles . It is yellowish olive green and has black intersegmental spaces on the thorax and brown on the abdomen. On the abdomen there is a dark green back line and small, oblique rows of black dots. The wing sheaths carry black lines from the base to shortly before the terms, which are interrupted by the discoidal cell . The compound eyes , the proboscis , the antennae and the legs are black. The end of the abdomen is black, the cremaster is short, black and pointed.
Occurrence and habitat
It is essentially an Afrotropic species that inhabits the south of the Arabian Peninsula ( United Arab Emirates , north Oman and Yemen ), eastern Africa to Natal and west to Gambia . It also penetrates the south of the Palearctic and is documented there in Iran ( Kerman and Hormozgan provinces , as well as Balochistan and the south of Iran) and western Saudi Arabia (north of Jeddah ). Since a find is known in Jiroft at 1850 meters above sea level, it could be that the species can tolerate cold, dry climates and therefore also occurs in other parts of Iran or even in western Pakistan.
The animals mainly fly in savannas, steppes and semi-deserts at around 1000 meters above sea level.
Way of life
The moths are crepuscular. In Africa you can often see them visiting flowers before the night starts.
Flight and caterpillar times
The moths fly in March and April, with catching a butterfly in Iran in early October suggesting a second generation per year. The caterpillars are found from April to May.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on various red family (Rubiaceae), such as Kohautia , bedstraws ( Galium ), reddened plants ( Rubia ) and Jaubertia .
Unlike swarmers, the caterpillars do not excrete individual pellets of excrement, but rather sticks one to four centimeters long. Pupation takes place in a cocoon loosely spun from brown silk between parts of the plant on the ground. The pupa hibernates. Parasitoids of the species are so far unknown.
