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Convolvulus Hawk-Moth

Agrius convolvuli

Description:

The adult Convolvulus Hawk-moth is grey with a light and dark pattern on the wings. The abdomen has pink patches on the side of each segment. They can hover in flight, and they have a long haustellum, which is extended to suck nectar when they hover over a flower. When threatened, the moths show the bright coloured bars on the abdomen. Caterpillars are green when they hatch with a straight tail horn. Later instars can become either green or dark brown. They have pale diagonal stripes along the sides, a backward curved horn on the tail and vertical stripes on the head.

Habitat:

The caterpillars feed on leaves of plants in the Convolvulacae family. They are a pest of Sweet Potatoes in New Guinea and Indonesia. They also feed on various garden plants such as Morning Glory ( Ipomoea sp.). The smooth white oval eggs are laid singly on the upper surface of a leaf of a food plant. The caterpillar pupates in the soil some distance from the food plant.

1 Species ID Suggestions

bayucca
bayucca 10 years ago
Convolvulus Sphinx Moth
Agrius convolvuli Agrius convolvuli


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4 Comments

Christiane
Christiane 10 years ago

Thanks bayucca... :)

bayucca
bayucca 10 years ago

Sphingidae, Sphinginae, Sphingini, Agrius convolvuli. Your Sweet Potato might be Ipomoea sp. and probably Ipomoea batatas.

Christiane
Christiane 10 years ago

Thanks Gilma Jeannette Ospino Ferreira-Norman..

Nice spotting!! It is beautiful, love that red horn!! I have seen a few that large (different than yours) and they are usually moth, hope you get and ID, Christiane.

Christiane
Spotted by
Christiane

Queensland, Australia

Spotted on Jan 5, 2014
Submitted on Jan 5, 2014

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