Platysphinx piabilis

Platysphinx piabilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Platysphinx
Species:	P. piabilis
Binomial name
	Platysphinx piabilis; (Distant, 1897)[1]
Synonyms
	Ambulyx piabilis Distant, 1897; Platysphinx bourkei Trimen, 1910;

Platysphinx piabilis is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by William Lucas Distant in 1897. It is known from savanna and other open habitats in southern and eastern Africa.[2]

The length of the forewings is 58–62 mm for males and 60–65 mm for females and the wingspan is 109–132 mm. There are red spots on the hindwing, which are evenly distributed and not arranged in regular bands. The forewing of the females is broader, less acuminate, darker and more reddish than in males. The hindwings are more heavily spotted with red. It is separable from Platysphinx phyllis and Platysphinx stigmatica only convincingly by examining the genitalia.

The larvae feed on the leaves of Pterocarpus angolensis.

References

"CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
Carcasson, R. H. (1967). "Revised Catalogue of the African Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) with Descriptions of the East African species". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society and National Museum. 26 (3): 1–173 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.

[2] Carcasson, R. H. (1967). "Revised Catalogue of the African Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) with Descriptions of the East African species". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society and National Museum. 26 (3): 1–173 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.