Theretra alecto alecto (Linnaeus, 1758)

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 : 184-185

24. Theretra alecto alecto (Linnaeus, 1758) - Levant Hunter Hawkmoth ( Figure 3 : F)

1758. Sphinx alecto Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. (Ed. 10), 1: 492.

Material examined: INDIA, Manipur, Ukhrul District, Shirui Hills, Site 1 (25.1264ºN 94.4357ºE), 1930 m asl ,

23.vii.2019 - 1♂, IJ1426, coll. J.S. Irungbam.

Wingspan: ♂, 65 mm. Forewing length: 31 mm.

Distribution: India: Andaman Islands ( Chandra and Kumar, 1992); Arunachal Pradesh ( Athreya, 2013); Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh ( Shubhalaxmi et al., 2011); Jammu and Kashmir ( Sanyal et al., 2018); Jharkhand ( Singh et al., 2017a); Karnataka (Melichar et al., 2018); Madhya Pradesh (Choubey et al., 2017); Meghalaya ( Mandal and Ghosh, 1999); Punjab ( Pathania et al., 2014); Sikkim ( Dudgeon, 1886); Uttarakhand ( Smetacek, 1994, 2008); West Bengal ( Shah et al., 2018). Elsewhere: Pakistan ( Rafi et al., 2014); Nepal ( Kishida, 1998); Bhutan ( Irungbam and Irungbam, 2019); Hong Kong ( Kendrick and Young, 2014); the Philippines ( Hogenes, 1998); Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Indonesia, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt ( Pittaway and Kitching, 2020).

Larval hostplants: Vitis sp. , Parthenocissus , Cissus sp. , Leea sp. (all Vitaceae ), Rubia sp. , Psychotria sp. (both Rubiaceae ), Saurauia sp. ( Actinidiaceae ), Dillenia sp. and Tetracera sp. (both Dilleniaceae ) ( Pittaway and Kitching, 2020).

Remarks: Shubhalaxmi et al. (2011) have mentioned the presence of the species in Manipur. The present record from Shirui Hills, confirms its presence in 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).