''Macroglossum melas'' 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 is known from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

. It is similar to ''

Macroglossum heliophila ''Macroglossum divergens'', the broad-bordered hummingbird hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1875. It is found from north-eastern Sikkim, India across southern China to Cheju Island (S ...

'', but the body and wings have a much deeper colour and the upper- and undersides are almost black. The head upperside has a thin white line above the eye. The abdomen upperside has small yellow spots. The underside of the palpus, middle of the thorax and mesial patches of the abdomen are white and the side tufts of the abdomen are white-tipped. The forewing upperside is slightly variable. Both wings undersides are grey at the extreme base.

Subspecies

*''Macroglossum melas melas'' *''Macroglossum melas moriolum'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1916 (Salomon Islands) *''Macroglossum melas pullius'' Jordan, 1930 (Papua New Guinea)

References

Macroglossum Moths described in 1903 Taxa named by Walter Rothschild Taxa named by Karl Jordan Moths of Indonesia Moths of Oceania {{Macroglossum-stub