''Macroglossum assimilis'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) 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, ...

. It was described by

William John Swainson William John Swainson FLS, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swainson was born in Dover Place, St Mary Newington, London, the eldest son of ...

in 1821 and is known from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Description

It is similar to ''

Macroglossum belis ''Macroglossum belis'', the common hummingbird hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is known from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Thailand, southern China, ...

'', but the upperside of the abdomen has dark lateral patches that are less black and the underside of the abdomen and the wings are less reddish. The forewing upperside is flushed whitish grey. Head, thorax, abdomen, and forewings are greyish without a rufus tinge. Forewings with antemedial band are wide at the inner margin and straighter. Larva is bright green with a pale brown dorsal strip. A pale subdorsal stripe, with a red-brown edge above. Dorsal area speckled with brown. Spiracles are black with oblique brown stripes between them. Lateral area is speckled with white. Horn is black with a yellow tip. Legs are pinkish.

References

Macroglossum Moths described in 1821 Moths of Asia Moths of Sri Lanka {{Macroglossum-stub