Hyles vespertilio

Hyles vespertilio is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

Hyles vespertilio
Caterpillar
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Hyles
Species:
H. vespertilio
Binomial name
Hyles vespertilio
(Esper, 1780)[1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx vespertilio Esper, 1780
  • Hyles salmonea (Oberthür, 1894)
  • Hyles flava (Blachier, 1905)
  • Hyles murina (Austaut, 1905)
  • Hyles explicata (Dannehl, 1933)
  • Deilephila vespertilio burckhardti (Mory, 1901)

Distribution
Range

It is found in central Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, as well as from Anatolia to the Caucasus. It has been recorded from southern and eastern France, southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, northern and central Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Poland, western Ukraine, western Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, southern and Central Serbia, northern Albania, western and southern Bulgaria and northern Greece. Outside of Europe, the range extends over western Turkey, east to Transcaucasia. There is an isolated population in the mountains of Lebanon.

Description

The wingspan is 60–80 mm. There are two forms, f. salmonea does not have the red color on the hind wing, f. flava is black and has yellow hind wings. In the French Alps, the natural hybrid with Hyles hippophaes is found.

  • Male dorsal
  • Male ventral
  • Female dorsal
  • Female ventral

Biology

Adults are on wing from May to June and from August to September in a partial second generation in most of the range. On high altitudes in central Europe and Bulgaria, there is only one generation from June to July.

The larvae feed on Epilobium species (including Epilobium dodonaei), Oenothera and Galium.

References
  1. Fauna Europaea


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