Smerinthulus baonganae Brechlin, 2016

Jiang, Zhuo-Heng, Xu, Zhen-Bang, Lin, Yi-Ting, Liu, Chang-Qiu, Wang, Xin & Hu, Shao-Ji, 2025, New records and notes of hawkmoths from China (Lepidoptera, Bombycoidea), Zootaxa 5673 (2), pp. 151-188 : 159-161

Smerinthulus baonganae Brechlin, 2016 [AEÊ天ẽ]

( Figures 9–12 )

Smerinthulus baonganae Brechlin, 2016 ; Entomo-Satsphingia, 9 (4): 87; TL: ‘Bach Ma Mts, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam’.

Material examined. CHINA: ♂, Lin’an ( 840 m), Hangzhou , Zhejiang, 14-X-2024, Qing-Song Lin leg. [ JZHC] ; ♂, Yiyang , Hunan, VII-2023, Local collector leg. [ XZBC] ; ♂♂, Yingjing ( 1200 m), Ya’an , Sichuan, VII-2023, Local collector leg. [ XZBC] ; ♀, Yingjing ( 1200 m), Ya’an , Sichuan, VII-2023, Local collector leg. [ JZHC] .

Diagnosis. Male ( Figures 9A–B , 12 ): The head is yellow-brown with a brown dorsal stripe. The thorax is yellow-brown with a dorsal creamy patch. The abdome is yellow-brown dorsally with a creamy, dotted line; lateral side exhibits black stigma-dots. The forewing is triangular with a pointed apex, outer margin crenulate, the distal part of the inner margin slightly concave. Dorsally, ground color yellow-brown with a prominent creamy postdiscal patch; basal to medial area includes three broad brown zigzag stripes; submarginal area features a brown zigzag line and three brown dots; apex displays a creamy patch. Ventral side ground color yellow with a black postdiscal line that is not prominent. The hindwings is has the ground color ochre with an indistinct dark brown submarginal band; ventrally, ground color yellow with a black postdiscal line and an inconspicuous arrow-shaped patch.

Female ( Figures 9C–D , 12 ): Similar to the male but markedly larger and with broader wings; general ground color ochraceous and with more extensive, pronounced patterning; antennae noticeably slenderer.

Male genitalia ( Figure 10A–D ): Uncus tongue-shaped with a bilobed terminal portion. Gnathos forms a short, finger-like lobe. Valve is tongue-shaped, with a distinctly swollen dorsal edge and a ventral edge covered in numerous fine teeth; the apical part features two claws. Phallus is slender, lacking an apical tooth.

Female genitalia ( Figure 11 ): Anal papillae apophyses rounded. Lamella antevaginalis and lamella postvaginalis broad and weakly sclerotized; ostial lobe circular. Ductus bursae tubular, membranous, and slender, the corpus bursae ellipsoidal.

Distribution. China ( Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang), Vietnam ( Figure 1 ).

Biological notes. Adults were collected in middle elevation monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest, attracted to a light trap at night ( Figure 12 ).

Remarks. This species closely resembles S. flavomaculatus Inoue, 1990 , and S. perversa ( Rothschild, 1895) but can be readily distinguished by its shorter, less slender wings, the prominent brown zigzag band on the forewing upperside, and the distinctive structure of the male genitalia. Previously, S. baonganae was only known from central Vietnam; however, DNA barcoding performed for this study confirmed its range now includes Zhejiang, Hunan, and Sichuan in China. The record from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, also represents the northernmost for any species of the genus Smerinthulus . Other Smerinthulus species present in the habitat of S. baonganae include S. perversa pallidus Mell, 1922 , and S. mirabilis orientosinica ( Brechlin, 2014) from Zhejiang, Hunan, and Sichuan, as well as S. mirabilis tonkiniana ( Brechlin, 2014) and S. perversa bachmaensis Brechlin, 2016 from central and northern Vietnam.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Geographic distribution of Smerinthinae and Sphinginae species included in this study.

FIGURE 9. Habitus of Smerinthulus baonganae. (A–B), male, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; (C–D) female, Yingjing, Ya’an, Sichuan, China. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 10. Male genitalia of Smerinthulus baonganae, Yiyang, Hunan, China. (A) Genital ring; (B) Left valve; (C) Right valve; (D) Phallus.

FIGURE 11. Female genitalia of Smerinthulus baonganae, Ya’an, Sichuan, China.

FIGURE 12. Habitat and living adults (male and female) of Smerinthulus baonganae in Ya’an, Sichuan, China.