Sphingidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For a complete species list of this family, see the Sphingidae species list.
| iHawk moths | ||||||||||||
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 Hummingbird hawk moth, Macroglossum stellatarum
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| 200 genera 1,200 species |
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| Sphinx ligustri (Privet Hawk-moth) |
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Macroglossinae |
The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera). They are commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms. There are about 1,200 described species in the family (Grimaldi and Engel, 2005). It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region (Scoble, 1995). They are moderate to large in size. Among the Lepidoptera, they are distinguished for their rapid, sustained flying ability (Scoble, 1995). The narrow wings and streamlined abdomen are clearly adaptations for rapid flight.
Some hawk moths, like the hummingbird hawk moth, hover in midair while they feed on nectar from flowers and are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds. This hovering capability has evolved only three times in nectar feeders: in hummingbirds, certain bats, and these sphingids (Kitching, 2002). Sphingids have been much studied for their flying ability, and especially their ability to move rapidly from side to side while hovering, called 'swing-hovering.' It is thought that this talent evolved to deal with ambush predators that lie in wait in flowers (Kitching, 2002).
They are some of the fastest flying insects, capable of flying at over 50 km/h (30 miles per hour) [citation needed]. They have a wingspan of 35-150 mm.
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[edit] Life cycle
Most species are multivoltine, capable of producing several generations a year if weather conditions permit (Pittaway, 1993).
[edit] Eggs
Females lay translucent greenish, flattened, smooth eggs (Scoble, 1995). Eggs are usually laid singly (Grimaldi and Engel, 2005) on the host plants (Pittaway, 1993). Egg development time is highly variable, from 3 to 21 days (Pittaway, 1993).
[edit] Larvae
Sphingid caterpillars are medium to large in size, with stout bodies. They have 5 pairs of prolegs (Pittaway, 1993). Usually their bodies lack any hairs or tubercules, but most species have a "horn" at the posterior end (Scoble, 1995), which may be reduced to a button, or absent, in the final instar (Pittaway, 1993). Many are cryptic greens and browns, and have countershading patterns to conceal them. Others are more conspicuously coloured, typically with white spots on a black or yellow background along the length of the body. A pattern of diagonal slashes along the side is a common feature. When resting, the larva usually holds the legs off the surface and tucks its head underneath, which gives rise to the name 'sphinx moth' (Pittaway 1993). Some tropical larvae are thought to mimic snakes (Scoble, 1995). Larvae are quick to regurgitate their sticky, often toxic, forgut contents on attackers such as ants and parasitoids (Pittaway, 1993). Development rate is dependent on temperature, and to speed development some northern and high altitude species sunbathe (Pittaway, 1993).
[edit] Pupae
In some sphingidae, the pupa has a free proboscis, rather than being fused to the pupal case as is most common in Macrolepidoptera (Scoble, 1995). They have a cremaster at the tip of the abdomen (Pittaway, 1993). Usually they pupate off the host plant, in an underground chamber, among rocks, or in a loose cocoon (Pittaway, 1993). In most species, the pupa is the overwintering stage.
[edit] Adults
Antennae are generally not very feathery, even in the males (Scoble, 1995). They lack tympanal organs but members of the tribe Choerocampini have hearing organs on their heads (Scoble, 1995). They have a frenulum and retinaculum to join hindwings and forewings (Scoble, 1995). The thorax, abdomen, and wings are densely covered in scales. Sphingids may have a reduced proboscis, but most have a very long proboscis (Scoble, 1995). They use it to feed on nectar from flowers. Most are crepuscular or nocturnal, but some species fly during the day (Pittaway, 1993). Both males and females are relatively long-lived (living 10 to 30 days) (Pittaway, 1993). Prior to flight, most species shiver their flight muscles to warm them up, and, during flight, body temperatures may surpass 40 C (Pittaway, 1993) . Females call males to them with pheromones. The male may douse the female with pheromone (Pittaway, 1993) before mating.
[edit] Food plants
[edit] Larvae
Sphingid larvae tend to be specific feeders, rather than generalists (Pittaway, 1993). Compared to similarly sized saturniids, sphingids eat soft young leaves of host plants with small toxic molecules, and chew and mash the food into very small bits (Bernays and Janzen, 1988). Some species can tolerate quite high concentrations of specific toxins. Tobacco hornworms Manduca sexta detoxify and rapidly excrete nicotine, as do several other related sphinx moths in the subfamilies Sphinginae and Macroglossinae, but members of Smerinthinae that were tested are susceptible (Wink and Thiele, 2002). They did not sequester the toxin in their tissues; 98% was excreted. However, other species, such as Hyles euphorbiae and Daphnis nerii do sequester toxins from their hosts, but do not pass them on to the adult stage (Pittaway, 1993).
[edit] Adults
Most adults feed on nectar, although a few tropical species feed on eye secretions and the Death's head hawkmoth steals honey from bees (Pittaway, 1993). Night-flying sphingids tend to prefer pale flowers with long corolla tube and a sweet odour, a pollination syndrome known as 'sphingophily' (Kitching, 2002). Some species are quite general in visitations, while others are very specific, with the plant only being successfully pollinated by a particular species of moth (Kitching, 2002). Orchids frequently have such specific relations with hawkmoths, and very long corolla tubes. The Comet Orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale, a rare Malagasy flower with its nectar stored at the bottom of a 30 cm long tube was first discovered by Aubert du Petit-Thouars, and Charles Darwin (1862) famously predicted that there must be some specialised animal to feed from it, and while he was ridiculed, he was proved correct 21 years later when a particularly large and long-tongued hawk moth, Xanthopan morganii praedicta was described (Rothschild and Jordan, 1903)- the subspecific name "praedicta" commemorating Darwin's prediction.
[edit] Representative species
There are around 1200 species of hawk moth, classified into around 200 genera. Some of the best known species are:
- Privet hawkmoth (Sphinx ligustri)
- Death's-head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos)
- Lime Hawk-moth (Mimas tiliae)
- Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi)
- Catalpa Sphinx (Ceratomia catalpae)
- Hummingbird hawk moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
- Elephant hawk moth (Deilephila elpenor)
- Vine hawk moth (Hippotion celerio)
- Spurge hawk moth (Hyles euphorbiae)
[edit] Gallery
 Theretra clotho |
 Snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis), Lake Junaluska, North Carolina |
 Vine hawk moth larva (Hippotion celerio) |
 Sphinx ligustri larva |
 Spurge Hawkmoth larva (Hyles euphorbiae), Ardèche, France |
[edit] See also
- Moths in Israel and Palestine
[edit] References
- Bernays EA, and Janzen DH 1988. Saturniid and Sphingid caterpillars - 2 ways to eat leaves. Ecology 69 (4): 1153-1160.
- Darwin C. 1862. On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing. London: John Murray. (p. 197-198)
- Grimaldi, D, and MS Engel, 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press.
- Kitching, IJ. 2002. The phylogenetic relationships of Morgan's Sphinx, Xanthopan morganii (Walker), the tribe Acherontiini, and allied long-tongued hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae, Sphinginae). Zool. J. Linn Soc. 135 (4):471-527
- Pittaway, AR. 1993. The hawkmoths of the western Palaearctic. Harley Books, London.
- Rothschild LW, and Jordan K. 1903. A revision of the lepidopterous family Sphingidae. Novitates Zoologicae 9 (Suppl.): 1–972
- Scoble, MJ. 1995. The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity. Second ed. Oxford University Press.
- Wink, M., and Vera Theile. 2002. Alkaloid tolerance in Manduca sexta and phylogenetically related sphingids (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Chemoecology 12:29–46
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- Sphingidae of the United States
- Pictures
- Australian Museum Fact Sheet - Hawk Moths
- CATE-Sphingidae: a recently initiated project to produce a "one-stop shop" for Sphingidae taxonomy
