Daphnis nerii ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Mbata, Keith J. & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, Annotated checklist of moths of Zambia (Insecta: Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 5354 (1), pp. 1-503 : 177

Daphnis nerii ( Linnaeus, 1758) * ( Fig. 34 )

COMMON NAME (S): Oleander Hawkmoth, Oleander hawk or Army Green Hawkmoth.

SYNONYM(S): Deilephila bipartita Gehlen, 1934b ; Daphnis infernelutea Saalm ̧ller, 1884.

IUCN STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE).

DISTRIBUTION: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, British Isles, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Crete, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Greece, Guam, Guinea Bissau, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iberian Peninsula, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Metropolitan France, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherland, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Congo, Réunion, Romania, Russia, S„o Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sicily, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Tanzania, USA, White Russia, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

LOCALITY IN ZAMBIA: Victoria Falls Region including Livingstone town , in Southern Province ; University of Zambia , in Lusaka ** and Kafue **, both localities in Lusaka Province ; Mwinilunga and Solwezi, in Northwestern Province ; Kitwe and Ndola, in Copperbelt Province ; Chama area [Latitude, - 10.58763 S; Longitude, 33.65453 E], in Muchinga Province .

LARVAL HOSTPLANT(S): Larval food plants include: one Apocynaceae species ( Nerium oleander L.) in the Réunion ( Martiré & Rochat, 2008); one Apocynaceae species ( Rauwolfia sp. ) and one Rubiaceae species ( Fleroya stipulosa (DC.) Y.F.Deng ) in Ghana ( Wagner et al. 2008); two Apocynaceae species ( Nerium oleander L. and Tabernaemontana divaricata (L.) R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult.) in the Seychelles ( Legrand 1966; Matyot 2005); one Apocynaceae species ( Nerium oleander L.) and one Rubiaceae species ( Gardenia sp. ) in Nigeria ( MacNulty 1970); six Apocynaceae species ( Funtumia elastica (Preuss) Stapf , Tabernaemontana divaricate (L.) R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult., Hunteria umbellata (K.Schum.) Hallier f. , Voacanga africana Stapf ex Scott-Elliot , V. thouarsii Roem. & Schult. , and Strophanthus hispidus DC. ) in Côte d’Ivoire ( Vuattoux et al. 1989); three Apocynaceae species ( Nerium oleander L., Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don and Rhazya stricta Decne. ) in Saudi Arabia ( Wiltshire 1986); one Rubiaceae species ( Sarcocephalus latifolius (Sm.) E.A.Bruce ) in Cameroon ( Schultze 1914) and three Apocynaceae species ( Vinca minor L., Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult. and Nerium oleander ) in an unnamed African country or countries ( Linnaeus 1758; Walsingham & Hampson 1896; Distant 1903). The following species of plants are listed as larval foodplants of this taxon in the countries listed above by the African Moths (2019) webpage: ten Apocynaceae species ( Nerium oleander L., Vinca minor L., Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult. , Rauvolfia caffra Sond. , Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A.DC. , Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don, Picralima nitida (Stapf) T.Durand & H.Durand , Tabernaemontana divaricata (L.) R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult., Cascabela thevetia (L.) Lippold, and Voacanga thouarsii Roem. & Schult. ), three Rubiaceae species ( Fleroya stipulosa (DC.) Y.F.Deng , Burttdavya nyassica Hoyle and Gardenia jasminoides J.Ellis ); one Metteniusaceae species ( Apodytes dimidiata E.Mey. ex Arn. ); one Poaceae species ( Bambusa sp. ) and one Anacardiaceae species ( Mangifera indica L.).

SOURCES: Bingham et al. 2010; Darge et al. 2011; De Prins & De Prins 2022; Distant 1903; Legrand 1966; Linnaeus 1758; MacNulty 1970; Martiré & Rochat, 2008; Matyot 2005; Pinhey 1975; Scan-bugs Organization 2019a; Schultze 1914; Vuattoux et al. 1989; Wagner et al. 2008; Wiltshire 1986.

Genus Euchloron Boisduval, 1875

Figures

FIGURES 32–34. Adult moths. 32a, Agrius convolvuli (Linnaeus, 1758)—Convolvulus Hawk (Sphingidae: Sphinginae) caught by black light trap in Lusaka, 31 March 2020, dorsal view; 32b, ditto, ventral view. 33a, Basiothia medea (Fabricius, 1781)—Small Verdant Hawk (Sphingidae: Macroglossinae) collected at a black light trap in Lusaka, 10 January 2011, dorsal view; 33b, ditto ventral view. 34a, Daphnis nerii (Linnaeus, 1758)—Oleander Hawk (Sphingidae: Macroglossinae) caught by a black light trap in Lusaka, 25 April 2011, dorsal view; 34b, ditto ventral view. Scale bar 2 cm. © Kind permission of the University of Zambia.