''Platysphinx piabilis'' 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, ...

first described by

William Lucas Distant William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe – 4 February 1922 Wanstead) was an English entomologist. Biography Early years Distant was born in Rotherhithe, the son of whaling captain Alexander Distant Rao, B.R. Subba (1998) ''Histor ...

in 1897. It is known from

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and other open habitats in southern and eastern Africa.

References

Platysphinx Moths described in 1897 Moths of Sub-Saharan Africa Lepidoptera of Mozambique Lepidoptera of Malawi Lepidoptera of Tanzania Lepidoptera of Zimbabwe Taxa named by William Lucas Distant {{Smerinthini-stub