Macroglossum hirundo 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 the Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

, the Society Islands

Society Islands

The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 (the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales), Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, the Bismarck Archipelago

Bismarck Archipelago

The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...

 and the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

.

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 about 40 mm. Adults have light and dark brown forewings, with a pale bar across the middle of each. The hindwings are yellow with a broad black border.

They larvae feed on various Rubiaceae

Rubiaceae

The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...

 species, including Canthium odoratum, Coelospermum reticulatum, Coprosma repens

Coprosma repens

Coprosma repens is a shrub or small tree that is native to New Zealand. Common names include Taupata, Mirror Bush, Looking-glass Bush, New Zealand Laurel and Shiny Leaf.-Description:...

, Morinda jasminoides

Morinda jasminoides

Morinda jasminoides, known as the Sweet Morinda or Jasmine Morinda, is a common climber growing in eucalyptus forests and rainforests of eastern Australia. There is a record of this plant in the far north of Western Australia....

, Myrmecodia beccarii

Myrmecodia beccarii

Myrmecodia beccarii, Ant-house Plant, is an epiphytic plant on Melaleuca trees and others with spongy bark in the wetlands and mangroves of tropical north Queensland, Australia from Cooktown to Mission Beach. The prickly, swollen stems develop natural hollows which are invaded by the Golden Ant in...

, Pavetta australiensis and Psychotria loniceroides

Psychotria loniceroides

Psychotria loniceroides, known as the Hairy Psychotria, is a plant growing in forest areas of eastern Australia.The habitat is the ecotone on the edge of rainforest and eucalyptus forests...

. The larvae are initially green with a black forward curving spine on the tail. Later, they can become pale brown or green, covered in small white dots. There is a dark dorsal line which may be fragmented into a line of dashes. A pair of pale dorso-lateral lines run from the head to the tail.

Subspecies

• Macroglossum hirundo hirundo
• Macroglossum hirundo errans Walker, 1856 (Papua New Guinea)
• Macroglossum hirundo lifuensis Rothschild, 1894 (New Caledonia)