Hawk Moth

Description:

Sphingidae; Hippotion sp. Philippine Lepidoptera's website is always my first port of call when I am trying to identify any butterfly or moth that I encounter here in Luzon, Philippines. Only once or twice have I spotted a species that is not represented in their collection and even on those rare occassions, they have generally had specimens sufficiently close to mine to point me in the right direction. Today was one of those occasions. They have a moth on display which is extremely close to my specimen shown here. It is identified as follows: "Hippotion sp. * may be H. rosetta, H. boerhaviae or H. rafflesii". I find this kind of information most helpful. Not every website makes the effort to go that extra mile. So my specimen for now is rosetta, boerhaviae or rafflesii until I can find pictures of those for comparison purposes.

Habitat:

This moth was spotted in our back yard resting on the stem of a Red Cockscomb (Celosia argentea) locally known as Palong-manok. It was, as can be seen in my photos, sitting in the classic "head up" position that Hawk Moths adopt when they are newly eclosed. It enables them to discharge any remaining fluids from the pupation and ensures that the wings hang in the correct position while the veins are being hydraulically pumped full of liquid to straighten them. When the liquid dries out, the membrane stiffens and the moth has a perfect set of aerodynamic wings.