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Daphnis nerii
Sphingidae; Macroglossinae; Daphnis nerii (Linnaeus, 1758). The colours and matkings on this species are, as can be seen in the photos, complicated and full of detail. I am sure I would get tied in knots if I tried to describe it properly. The one point I think I can mention safely is how to differentiate the males from the females. In dorsal view, look at the Last segment of the abdomen in my picturesand you will see a light green triangle (upside down, apex at the bottom). This triangle is bordered, left and right. by patches of very dark green, almost black. This signifies a female. The male's last segment has a rectangular green patch, bordered on three sides by a white line. These differences work for me, but I am sure that lepidopterists will have much more scientific identifiers.
This Daphnis nerii ♀ was originally spotted in my backyard, eating the leaves of a Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) on June 22. Please see Notes below.
In https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/86... I described how I rescued a Final Instar Daphnis nerii which was almost certainly about to be eaten by a resident owl. Then in https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/32... I showed the Pupal stage, a few days later. Now,early this mornRing, this beautiful Daphnis nerii ♀ emerged (leaving behind a neatly opened pupal case) and was taken outside to be released. As often happens with Hawk Moths, it did not want to fly, despite its wings being inflated, dried, stiffened and practised. So, I returned to its cage and will release it after dark this evening. I encountered this behavioural pattern many times when I used to breed and release Hawk Moths to bolster the local population which had plummeted. I am not sure why some emerge in daylight, but do not want to fly until dark. I suspect that it may be somrthing like female Atlas Moths which emerge and cling onto the outside of the pupal case where it will await the arrival of a male. Those Atlas Moth females will not fly until they have mated. However, this is only speculation. I have not read any scientific paper on Hawk Moths which mentions such a possibility.
Spotted on Jul 7, 2023
Submitted on Jul 7, 2023
3 Comments
What a lovely gift your father gave you, John!
Thank you, Ava T-B,,for your very kind words. It may be rather presumptuous of me, in view of your profession, to mention the following, but words are so important. When I was growing up, my father often scolded me for my misuse of words and his explanation has stuck with me all of my life. He explained that derogatory words are "like bullets from a gun". Once they leave your mouth and hit their target (another person), the damage is done. If you regret what you have said, there is really no way to recover the situation, The sincerest of apologies may be accepted and believed, but the wound is still there and may affect that person for the rest of his (or her) life. The opposite, words of encouragement, can go a long way in helping people towards self-improvement, and self-esteem. I don't always succeed, being rather clumsy in my use of words, but I always try to give encouragement and I get great satisfaction from it. I think every Project Noah member must have noticed your kindness and that of the other rangers. I am sure that "kindness" is right up there (if not higher) than technical and biological knowledge. Please forgive my rambling, but sometimes I just want to say what I think needs to be said. Thank you again, John B.
Thanks for you excellent notes on behavior! And for taking such good care of this beautiful creature!