Acosmeryx anceus
Encyclopedia
Acosmeryx anceus is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It was described by Stoll in 1781, and is known from India
, New Guinea
, and Queensland
, Australia
.
The wingspan
is 70-88 mm.
The larva
e of subspecies subdentata have been found on plants in the genera Leea
, Cayratia
, Cissus
, and Vitis
. Larvae of ssp. anceus have been recorded on Cayratia clematidea
, Cissus antarctica
and Vitis vinifera
.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Sphingidae
Sphingidae
Sphingidae is a family of moths , commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species . It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region . They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid,...
family. It was described by Stoll in 1781, and is known from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 70-88 mm.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of subspecies subdentata have been found on plants in the genera Leea
Leea
Leea is a genus of plants that are distributed throughout Northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, South and Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. Leea contains approximately 70 species and is placed in the Vitaceae family. The APG II system places Leea in the subfamily Leeoideae...
, Cayratia
Cayratia
The botanical genus Cayratia comprises approximately 45 species, some of which have utility value to people. It is found in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa, Australia, and islands of the Pacific ocean....
, Cissus
Cissus
Cissus is a genus of approximately 350 species of woody vines in the grape family . They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. In Tamil they are known as pirandai .-Medicinal:...
, and Vitis
Vitis
Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce...
. Larvae of ssp. anceus have been recorded on Cayratia clematidea
Cayratia clematidea
Cayratia clematidea, known as the Native Grape or Slender Grape, is a common Australian vine in the grape family. Growing in or on the edges of rainforest, from the Shoalhaven River gorges north to Queensland. Tendrils form opposite the leaf.- Description :Cayratia clematidea has compound leaves...
, Cissus antarctica
Cissus antarctica
Cissus antarctica, called "kangaroo vine", is one of the best known species of the genus Cissus in the family of Vitaceae. It is a climbing plant, a vine, and comes from Australia.-Cultivation:...
and Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
.
Subspecies
- Acosmeryx anceus anceus (Queensland and New South Wales)
- Acosmeryx anceus subdentata Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (southern and eastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, southwestern China (Yunnan, Guangxi), Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sumbawa) and the Philippines)