''Eurypteryx bhaga'', the hook-winged hawkmoth, is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths commonly called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as hornworms. It includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, but species ar ...

first described by

Frederic Moore Frederic Moore FZS (13 May 1830 – 10 May 1907) was a British entomologist and illustrator. He produced six volumes of ''Lepidoptera Indica'' and a catalogue of the birds in the collection of the East India Company. It has been said that Mo ...

in 1866.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 82–84 mm. It is similar to ''

Daphnis In Greek mythology, Daphnis (; , from , ''daphne'', "Bay Laurel") was a legendary Sicilian cowherd who was said to be the inventor of pastoral poetry. According to Diodorus the Sicilian (1st century BC), Daphnis was born in the Heraean Mountai ...

'' species, but easily distinguished by the falcate apex of the forewing, which also lacks a large oval dark green basal patch on the upperside. It is also similar to '' Eurypteryx obtruncata'', but the forewing outer margin is less curved and the hindwing apex is evenly rounded. There is an incomplete line on the forewing upperside running from the costa towards the middle of the outer margin, dividing the light brown apical area from the deep brown discal area. The antemedian band has a pale basal edge. The hindwing upperside is almost uniformly dark brown with a lighter patch at the tornus. The forewing underside has two distinct median lines.

Gallery

Eurypteryx bhaga MHNT CUT 2010 0 27 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia female dorsal.jpg, Female Eurypteryx bhaga MHNT CUT 2010 0 27 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia female ventral.jpg, Female underside Eurypteryx bhaga MHNT CUT 2010 0 27 Wang Chin District, Phrae Province, Thailand male dorsal.jpg, Male Eurypteryx bhaga MHNT CUT 2010 0 27 Wang Chin District, Phrae Province, Thailand male ventral.jpg, Male underside

Distribution

It is known from

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, north-eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, from south-western to central

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

(Peninsular, Sarawak) and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

(Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan).

Biology

The

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

feed on ''

Alstonia ''Alstonia'' is a widespread genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, of the family Apocynaceae. It was named by Robert Brown in 1811, after Charles Alston (1685–1760), professor of botany at Edinburgh from 1716 to 1760. The type species ''Alston ...

'' species.

References

Eurypteryx Moths described in 1866 {{Macroglossini-stub