Rhagastis castor aurifera (Butler, 1875)

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 : 190

34. Rhagastis castor aurifera (Butler, 1875) - Common Mottled Hawkmoth ( Figure 3 : P)

1875. Pergesa aurifera Butler, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond.: 7.

Material examined: INDIA, Manipur, Ukhrul District, Shirui Hills, Site 2 (25.1235°N 94.4407°E), 2036 m asl ,

24.vii.2019 - 1 ♂, IJ1161; Site 3 (25.1171ºN 94.4456ºE), 2190 m asl, 24.vii.2019 - 1 ♂, IJ1417, 13.ix.2019 - 1 ♂, IJ2292, coll. J.S. Irungbam.

Wingspan: ♂, 70 mm. Forewing length: 32 mm.

Distribution: India: Arunachal Pradesh ( Athreya, 2013); Assam ( Arandhara et al., 2017); Manipur; Meghalaya ( Mandal and Ghosh, 1999); Sikkim ( Dudgeon, 1886); Uttarakhand ( Smetacek, 1994, 2008; Sanyal et al., 2018). Elsewhere: Nepal ( Kishida, 1998); Bhutan ( Irungbam and Irungbam, 2019); Thailand ( Inoue et al., 1997); southern China, Vietnam ( Kitching and Spitzer, 1995).

Larval hostplants: Amorphophallus spp. ( Araceae ) and Vitis spp. (Vitiaceae) in India ( Bell and Scott, 1937).

Remarks: 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).