Cephonodes trochilus is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Sphingidae

Sphingidae

Sphingidae is a family of moths , commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species . It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region . They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid,...

 family. It is known from Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 38-41 mm. It is very similar to Cephonodes tamsi

Cephonodes tamsi

Cephonodes tamsi is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from the Seychelles.It is very similar to Cephonodes trochilus, but distinguishable by the reddish rather than brownish upperside of the abdomen and the white centres to the abdominal segments below. The upperside of the head, thorax...

, but distinguishable by the brownish rather than reddish upperside of the abdomen. The upperside of the head, thorax and wing bases are unicolorous green. The abdomen is uniformly brownish. The underside of the thorax and abdomen are uniform orange-yellow, the anal tuft yellow and the tip orange-brown, laterally partly black.

The larvae feed on Rubia

Rubiá

aRubiá is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ourense. It has a population of 1734 and an area of 101 km²....

and Galium

Galium

Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, with 617 known species occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Most species are known as bedstraw. G...

species.