''Sphinx caligineus'', the Chinese pine 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, ...

. It is known from Japan, north-eastern, eastern, central and southern China,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, northern

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 ...

and southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. 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 55–76 mm. The larvae feed on ''

Pinus tabulaeformis ''Pinus tabuliformis'', also called Manchurian red pine, Southern Chinese pine or Chinese red pine, is a pine native to northern China and northern Korea. Description ''Pinus tabuliformis'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to tall, wit ...

'' to the west and north of Beijing, as well as the ornamental ''

Pinus armandii ''Pinus armandii'', the Armand pine or Chinese white pine, is a species of pine native to China, occurring from southern Shanxi west to southern Gansu and south to Yunnan, with outlying populations in Anhui. It grows at altitudes of 2200–30 ...

''. In Guangdong, larvae have been recorded on ''

Pinus massoniana ''Pinus massoniana'' ( English: Masson's pine, Chinese red pine, horsetail pine; Chinese: 馬尾松) is a species of pine, native to Taiwan, a wide area of central and southern China, and northern Vietnam. Description It is an evergreen tr ...

''. Other recorded food plants include ''

Pinus elliottii ''Pinus elliottii'', commonly known as slash pine,Family, P. P. (1990). Pinus elliottii Engelm. slash pine. ''Silvics of North America: Conifers'', (654), 338. is a conifer tree native to the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is named after ...

'' and ''

Pinus taeda ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine. ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Sphinx caligineus caligineus'' (Japan) *''Sphinx caligineus brunnescens'' Mell, 1922 (central and southern China) *''Sphinx caligineus sinicus'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903) (north-eastern, eastern and southern China, South Korea, northern Thailand and southern Vietnam)

References

Sphinx (genus) Moths described in 1877 Moths of Japan {{Sphinginae-stub