Cephonodes hylas

Coffee bee hawkmoth
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Cephonodes
Species:	C. hylas
Binomial name
	Cephonodes hylas; (Linnaeus, [1771])
Synonyms
	Sphinx hylas Linnaeus, [1771];

Cephonodes hylas, the coffee bee hawkmoth, pellucid hawk moth or coffee clearwing, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771. A widely distributed moth, it is found in the Near East, Middle East, Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Description

It has transparent wings and a stout body like a bumble bee. Its wingspan of 45–73 mm. Its marginal borders are very narrow and black. Abdomen varies in colour from yellow to green. Nominate subspecies has bright reddish 3rd and 4th abdominal segments. Larva have two colour forms, green and blackish. In greenish form, body greenish with a white-bordered blue dorsal line and whitish sub-dorsal line ending in a yellow streak at base of horn. Head and spiracles are blue. In the dark-coloured form, head brown or pale orange and rest of body smoky black. Pupa dark brown.

Pellucid hawk moth with clear wings, hovering and sucking nectar from flowers using proboscis, Hyderabad, India.

Dorsal male
(from the collection of the MHNT)
Ventral male
(coll. MHNT)
Dorsal female
(coll. MHNT)
Ventral female
(coll. MHNT)

Ecology

Larvae are sluggish but eat very greedily and continuously. Its larvae feed on Burchellia, Gardenia, Kraussia, Pavetta and Vangueria species. Parasitoids such as Ooencyrtus papilionis and Blepharipa zebrine are found on larva.

Subspecies

Cephonodes hylas hylas - (Linnaeus 1771) (Sri Lanka to China and Japan)
Cephonodes hylas australis - Kitching & Cadiou, 2000 (Australia)
Cephonodes hylas melanogaster - Cadiou, 1998 (Indonesia)
Cephonodes hylas virescens - (Wallengren, 1865) (Ethiopian Region including Madagascar and the Seychelles)

Cephonodes hylas larvae on Catunaregam spinosa in Hyderabad, India
Cephonodes hylas larvae on Catunaregam spinosa in Hyderabad
Cephonodes hylas larvae on Catunaregam spinosa in Hyderabad
Cephonodes hylas larvae on Catunaregam spinosa in Hyderabad
Pellucid hawk moth in Bangalore, India