Acherontia lachesis (Fabricius, 1798)

Irungbam, Jatishwor Singh & Fric, Zdeněk Faltýnek, 2021, Checklist of the family Sphingidae Latreille, 1802 (Lepidoptera: Bombycoidea) from Shirui Hills, Manipur, India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 121 (1), pp. 173-194 : 180

13. Acherontia lachesis (Fabricius, 1798) - Greater Death’s Head Hawkmoth ( Figure 2 : M)

1798. Sphinx lachesis Fabricius, Suppl. Ent. Syst. : 434.

Material examined: INDIA, Manipur, Ukhrul District, Shirui Hills, Site 4 (25.1112ºN 94.4534ºE), 2425 m asl ,

25.vii.2019 - 1♂, IJ1181, coll. J.S. Irungbam.

Wingspan: ♂, 120 mm. Forewing length: 56 mm.

Distribution: India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands ( Chandra and Kumar, 1992); Arunachal Pradesh ( Athreya, 2013); Assam ( Arandhara et al., 2017); Jammu and Kashmir ( Sanyal et al., 2018); Jharkhand ( Sambath, 2014); Karnataka (Melichar et al., 2018); Madhya Pradesh ( Chandra et al., 2013, Choubey et al., 2017); Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra ( Gurule and Nikam, 2013), Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland ( Shubhalaxmi et al., 2011); Meghalaya ( Mandal and Ghosh, 1999); Odisha ( Mandal and Maulik, 1991); Punjab ( Pathania et al., 2014); Sikkim ( Dudgeon, 1886); Tamil Nadu ( Kathirvelu et al., 2019, Iyer and Kitching, 2019); Uttarakhand ( Smetacek, 1994, 2008); West Bengal ( Shah et al., 2018). Elsewhere: Eastern Pakistan ( Rafi et al., 2014); Nepal ( Kishida, 1998); Bhutan ( Irungbam and Irungbam, 2019); Thailand ( Inoue et al., 1997); Laos ( Kishida and Yano, 2020); Vietnam ( Kitching and Spitzer, 1995); Hong Kong ( Kendrick, 2002; Kendrick and Young, 2014); Myanmar, China, Taiwan ( Fu et al. 2013; Wu et al., 2020); Malaysia ( Holloway, 1987); Indonesia, southern Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Hawaiian Islands, Moluccas ( Holloway, 1987); the Philippines ( Hogenes, 1998).

Larval host-plants: Erythrina spp. ( Fabaceae ), Jasminum spp. ( Oleaceae ), Solanum tuberosum ( Solanaceae ), Nicotiana tabacum ( Solanaceae ), Tectona grandis ( Lamiaceae ), Datura sp. ( Solanaceae ) and other plants ( Scott, 1941).

Remarks: The species is recorded here for the first time from Manipur.

Figures

Figure 2. Image of adult Sphingidae: A. Craspedortha porphyria porphyria (Butler, 1876); B. Marumba irata Joicy and Kaye, 1917; C. Callambulyx junonia (Butler, 1881); D. Clanis undulosa gigantea Rothschild, 1894; E. Dolbina inexacta (Walker, 1856); F. Ambulyx liturata Butler, 1875; G. A. ochracea Butler, 1885; H. A. sericeipennis sericeipennis Butler, 1875; I. A. maculifera Walker, 1866 (female); J. Sphinx oberthueri (Rothschild and Jordan, 1903); K. Psilogramma discistriga (Walker, 1856); L. Agrius convolvuli (Linnaeus, 1758); M. Acherontia lachesis (Fabricius, 1798); N. A. styx styx (Westwood, 1847); O. Daphnis hypothous crameri Eitschberger and Melichar, 2010; P. Eupanacra sinuata (Rothschild and Jordan, 1903); Q. Acosmerycoides harterti (Rothschild, 1895); R. Acosmeryx anceus subdentata Rothschild and Jordan, 1903.