Theretra lucasii (Walker, 1856)

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 : 186

27. Theretra lucasii (Walker, 1856) - Lucas’s Hunter Hawkmoth ( Figure 3 : I)

1856. Chaerocampa (sic) lucasii Walker, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus. 8: 141.

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

12.vii.2016 - 1♂, IJ340, coll. J.S. Irungbam.

Wingspan: ♂, 78 mm. forewing length: 37 mm.

Distribution: India: Andaman and Nicober Islands ( Chandra and Kumar, 1992); Arunachal Pradesh ( Athreya, 2013); Assam ( Arandhara et al., 2017); Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim ( Sanyal et al., 2018); Karnataka (Melichar et al., 2018); Kerala ( Sondhi et al., 2018); Manipur; Meghalaya ( Mandal and Ghosh, 1999); Tamil Nadu ( Iyer and Kitching, 2019); West Bengal ( Shah et al., 2018). Elsewhere: Nepal ( Kishida, 1998); Hong Kong ( Kendrick and Young, 2014); Sri Lanka, Myanmar, eastern China, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands ( Pittaway and Kitching, 2020); the Philippines ( Hogenes, 1998).

Larval hostplants: Impatiens spp. ( Balsaminaceae ), Lagerstroemia spp. ( Lythraceae ), Vitis spp. ( Vitaceae ) and Begonia spp. ( Begoniaceae ) in India ( Bell and Scott, 1937).

Remarks: The species T. lucasii was earlier considered as subspecies of T. latreillii , but reinstated distinct species by Moulds et al. (2020). Now the species which flies in India through China, Southeast Asia up to Indonesia are T. lucasii . T. lucasii is replaced in the Maluku Islands by T. latreillii prattorum Clark, 1924 and in New Guinea, Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands by T. latreillii latreillii (Macleay, 1826) ( Moulds et al. 2020) . The species is recorded here for the first time from Manipur.

Figures

Figure 3. Image of adult Sphingidae: A. Acosmeryx naga naga (Moore, (1858)); B. A. pseudonaga Butler, 1881; C. Deilephila elpenor macromera (Butler, 1875); D. Hippotion celerio (Linnaeus, 1758); E. H. rosetta (Swinhoe, 1892); F. Theretra alecto (Linnaeus, 1758); G. T. clotho clotho (Drury, 1773); H. T. tibetiana Vaglia and Haxaire, 2010; I. T. lucasii (Walker, 1856); J. T. nessus nessus (Drury, 1773); K. T. oldenlandiae oldenlandiae (Fabricius, 1775); L. T. pallicosta (Walker, 1856); M. Cechetra lineosa (Walker, 1856); N. C. minor (Butler, 1875); O. Rhagastis albomarginatus albomarginatus (Rothschild, 1894); P. R. castor aurifera (Butler, 1875); Q. R. confusa Rothschild and Jordan, 1903; R. R. olivacea (Moore, 1857).