Hippotion celerio
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| Vine hawk moth | ||||||||||||||
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 Hippotion celerio, adult
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| Hippotion celerio (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Vine hawk moth (Hippotion celerio) is a moth of the Sphingidae family.
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[edit] Colouring and marks
The body and forewing of the adult moth are green and ochre. They have silvery white dots and streaks, with a silvery band running obliquely on the forewing. The hindwing is red near its lower angle (tornus) to pinkish over other parts of the wing. It is crossed by a black bar and black veins.
Hippotion aphorodes may be only a very dark subspecies of celerio - in this form, the silvery streak on the forewing is not present but other markings are intensified. In addition, the hindwing is mainly brownish.
[edit] Size
The forewing is typically 28-35 mm long.
[edit] Larva
Larvae may be green, yellowish green or even brown. They have a dark broken mid-dorsal line and a creamy dorso-lateral line from the fifth segment to the horn. The head is round, and usually a dull green colour. The larva has a horn which is usually long and straight. There is a large yellow and green eyespot on the third segment and a smaller one o the fourth segment.
Larvae typically feed on the leaves of plants such as the grape vine, Cissus, Impatiens and the Arum lilly.
[edit] References
- Pinhey, E (1962): Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town.
