Theretra nessus
Encyclopedia
The Yam Hawk Moth is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It is found in Sri Lanka
, India
(including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Nepal
, Burma, Thailand
, southern China
, Taiwan
, South Korea
, Japan
, Malaysia, Indonesia
, northern Australia
and New Caledonia
. It is a recent immigrant in Oahu
.
The wingspan
is 90-130 mm.
Larvae have been recorded on Amaranthus, Barringtonia
, Discorea, Amorphophallus
, Impatiens
, Citrullus
, Arathis, Boerhavia
, Knoxia, Morinda
, Oldenlandia
, Pongamia
, Spermacoce
, Glossostigma and Camellia
.
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 found in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Burma, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, northern 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...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. It is a recent immigrant in Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
.
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 90-130 mm.
Larvae have been recorded on Amaranthus, Barringtonia
Barringtonia
Barringtonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lecythidaceae. A common name is cornbeefwood.Bengali name is "Hijalna".Species include:* Barringtonia acutangula* Barringtonia asiatica* Barringtonia calyptrata...
, Discorea, Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus is a large genus of some 170 tropical and subtropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the Arum family...
, Impatiens
Impatiens
Impatiens is a genus of about 850–1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and tropics. Together with the puzzling Hydrocera triflora, this genus makes up the family Balsaminaceae...
, Citrullus
Citrullus
Citrullus is a small genus of desert vines, among which Citrullus lanatus is an important crop.- Classifications of Citrullus :A = names approved by most authorities, s = approved as synonyms- Citroides Group :...
, Arathis, Boerhavia
Boerhavia
Boerhavia, the spiderlings, is a genus of about 40 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. The common name refers to the appearance of a spider or spider's web given by the numerous long, slender and interlocking stems of the inflorescences...
, Knoxia, Morinda
Morinda
Morinda is a genus of flowering plants in the madder family, Rubiaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin words morus, meaning "mulberry," and indica, meaning "of India," referring to the shape of the fruits. -Description:...
, Oldenlandia
Oldenlandia
Oldenlandia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is pantropical in distribution and has about 240 species. The type species for the genus is Oldenlandia corymbosa....
, Pongamia
Pongamia
Pongamia is a genus of legume in the Fabaceae family.It contains the following species:* Pongamia velutina-Species formely in the genus:Pongamia pinnata or Pongamia glabra are synonyms for Millettia pinnata...
, Spermacoce
Spermacoce
Spermacoce is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It comprises about 275 species found throughout the tropics and subtropics...
, Glossostigma and Camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
.
Subspecies
- Theretra nessus nessus
- Theretra nessus albata Fukuda, 2003 (Fiji, New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands and Rossel Island at the extreme eastern end of the Louisiade Archipelago)