Sphinx morio
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Sphinx morio |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
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| Rothschild & Jordan , 1903 |
Sphinx morio is a moth from the family of hawkmoths (Sphingidae).
features
The moths have a wingspan of 60 to 80 millimeters. They look very similar to the pine hawk ( Sphinx pinastri ), but many butterflies have a reddish brown sheen in their coloration. The top of both pairs of wings is darker than that of the pine hawk. Behind the wing vein M 1 runs a dark line, which, however, is finer and less noticeable in the nominate subspecies than in the Sphinx morio inouei . In Sphinx morio arestus , on the other hand, the line is receded or completely absent. The black line on the disc cell is more conspicuous and longer in the nominate subspecies than in the Sphinx morio inouei . In Sphinx morio inouei the blackish brown band running medially on the upper side of the forewings is conspicuous, whereas in the nominate subspecies it ends between the veins M 3 and Cu 2 and the outer edge of the dorsal part of the band is blurred. The veins Rs and M 1 on the hind wings are much shorter branched than in the pine hawk. The thorax and abdomen are colored brown on top. There are small, pale patterns on the sides of the abdomen. In the nominate subspecies, the Tegulae have a wider black stripe compared to Sphinx morio arestus . The pale area on the palps is limited. The proboscis is about half as long as that of the pine hawk.
In the nominate subspecies, the lobes of the gnathos are wider and shorter in the males than in the pine hawk. On the harp, the dorsal process is flattened and shorter and not, as in the pine hawk, cylindrical and longer. The ventral process is more horizontal and more curved distally . In contrast to the pine hawk , the aedeagus is short and ends pointedly with a strong curvature. In Sphinx morio arestus , the upper branch of the saccule of the male genitalia is about the same length as the lower and is slightly curved, flattened and wide. In the pine hawk, however, it is long, curved and cylindrical. In the male genitalia, the ventral process of the harp in Sphinx morio inouei is shorter than the dorsal.
The egg is flattened dorso-ventrally at 2.5 by 1.5 millimeters. It is initially shiny pale green and turns reddish yellow in color. The caterpillars are 54 to 65 millimeters long and occur mainly in a green or brown color variant. They look very similar to those of the pine hawk. The pupa is 30 to 35 millimeters long and is very similar to that of the pine hawk. But instead of an exposed proboscis sheath it has a blunt lump.
Occurrence
The nominate subspecies is endemic in the north and center of Honshu in Japan and further evidence in the literature is based on incorrect determinations. Sphinx morio inouei is also only common on Honshu, but only occurs in the north of the island. Sphinx morio arestus is distributed from the western Altai and its northern foothills to Novosibirsk in the east. The distribution also extends from the Altai over southern Siberia and Mongolia to the far east of Russia, northeast China and Korea. An isolated population is known from the Qin Ling in Shaanxi at about 1500 meters above sea level. The range of the species does not overlap with that of the pine hawkmoth, which has its eastern records in Kurgan and Nizhny Novgorod .
Sphinx morio arestus inhabits cool larch and pine forests , Sphinx morio inouei mixed forests and the nominate subspecies montane forests from Japanese larch ( Larix kaempferi ).
Way of life
In contrast to the pine hawk, the moths apparently only mate in the morning. This could explain the genetic separation of the two species. They usually fly in one generation from mid-June to late July. Occasionally an incomplete second generation occurs in August. Sphinx morio inouei has been recorded from late June to early August. The nominate subspecies appears to fly at sunrise and sunset and is attracted by artificial light sources.
The females lay 100 to 120 eggs, from which the caterpillars hatch after 13 to 15 days. The caterpillars can be found between July and August. They feed on different types of pine ( Pinus ) and larch ( Larix ). In Siberia, the caterpillars of Sphinx morio arestus are found mainly on Siberian stone pine ( Pinus sibirica ), Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ), Siberian larch ( Larix sibirica ) and Dahurian larch ( Larix gmelinii ). In the Altai, this species can be harmful to Scots pines and completely de-needle large areas. The caterpillars have a similar way of life as that of the pine hawk. There are no known parasitoids that infect the species. The nominate subspecies feeds on Japanese larch ( Larix kaempferi ).
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g SPHINX MORIO MORIO (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903). AR Pittaway: Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic, accessed December 28, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c d e SPHINX MORIO INOUEI (Owada & Kogi, 1992). AR Pittaway: Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic, accessed December 28, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c d e f SPHINX MORIO ARESTUS (Jordan, 1931). AR Pittaway: Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic, accessed December 28, 2014 .
