''Macroglossum passalus'', the black-based hummingbird hawkmoth, 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, ...

described by

Dru Drury Dru Drury (4 February 1724 – 15 December 1803) was a British collector of natural history specimens and an entomologist. He had specimens collected from across the world through a network of ship's officers and collectors including Henry Sme ...

in 1773. It is known from

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 ...

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 ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, south-eastern China,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, southern Japan,

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 ...

(Sumatra, Java) and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The

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

is 52–62 mm. Adults are attracted to the flowers of ''

Duranta erecta ''Duranta erecta'' is a species of Flowering plant, flowering shrub in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, sub ...

'' and ''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduc ...

''. They are on wing at dawn and dusk. Larvae have been recorded feeding on ''

Daphniphyllum calycinum ''Daphniphyllum calycinum'' is a species of shrubby plant in the family Daphniphyllaceae. It is found in northern Vietnam and Southeastern Zhōngguó/China. It is used in biodiesel and in lubrication, soap-making and Chinese medicine. Taxonomy ...

'' in Hong Kong, '' Photinia glabra'' in Japan and ''

Photinia lindleyana ''Photinia'' () is a genus of about 30 species of small trees and large shrubs, but the taxonomy has recently varied greatly, with the genera ''Heteromeles'', ''Stranvaesia'' and '' Aronia'' sometimes included in ''Photinia''. They are a part of ...

'' in India.

Description

Upperside: antennae brown, and thickest near their extremities. Head and

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the ...

greyish brown, with a dark line running down the middle.

Abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...

red brown, with two yellow spots on each side. Tail broad and hairy. Anterior wings, next the body, dark chocolate, occupying a third part; next to this they are of a light red brown, growing darker as it approaches the tips. Inferior wings yellow next the shoulders; the apical half being of a fine dark chocolate. Underside: head white. Tongue curled up. Breast and thighs yellow clay coloured. Legs, sides, and abdomen dark clay coloured. Wings, next the body, yellow clay coloured; the remaining parts being red brown, with a faint darker border along the external edges. Wingspan 2 inches (50 mm).

References

Macroglossum Moths described in 1773 Taxa named by Dru Drury Moths of Asia Moths of Japan Descriptions from Illustrations of Exotic Entomology {{Macroglossum-stub