Euchloron megaera
Encyclopedia
Euchloron megaera is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It is known from most of Africa
and Yemen
. It is a migratory
species.
The length of the forewings is 40-50 mm and the wingspan
is 96-121 mm. The body and forewings are bright deep green. The forewings have a black and white spot at the base, a dark brown spot near the tornus and one or two at the costa. The hindwings are orange-yellow with an irregular brown margin turning greenish near the tornus. There is a black spot at the base and a large, elongated black spot from inner margin to vein five.
The larvae feed on Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Vigna
and Cissus
species.
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 is known from most of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. It is a migratory
Lepidoptera migration
Lepidoptera migration is a biological phenomenon whereby populations of butterflies or moths migrate over long distances to areas where they cannot settle for long periods of time...
species.
The length of the forewings is 40-50 mm and 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 96-121 mm. The body and forewings are bright deep green. The forewings have a black and white spot at the base, a dark brown spot near the tornus and one or two at the costa. The hindwings are orange-yellow with an irregular brown margin turning greenish near the tornus. There is a black spot at the base and a large, elongated black spot from inner margin to vein five.
The larvae feed on Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Vigna
Vigna
The genus Vigna is in the plant family Fabaceae. The genus is named after Domenico Vigna, an Italian botanist of the 17th century. They include some well-known and other less well-known beans formerly — and sometimes still, especially in non-scholarly sources — included in the genus Phaseolus...
and 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:...
species.
Subspecies
- Euchloron megaera megaera (very common and widely distributed in most habitats in most of Africa south of the Sahara, except high mountains and very arid areas. It is also not found in the western Cape)
- Euchloron megaera asiatica Haxaire & Melichar, 2009 (Yemen)
- Euchloron megaera lacordairei (Boisduval, 1833) (Madagascar, Bourbon and Mauritius)
- Euchloron megaera orhanti Haxaire, 2010 (Reunion)
- Euchloron megaera serrai Darge, 1970 (Sao Tomé & Princípe)
External links
- Euchloron on the site «Lepidoptera and some other life forms» (FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) - Euchloron on the site «All-Leps: Barcode of Life» (CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- Photos on the sites «Ianni Butterfly Enterprises» (USA) and Philippe Blanchot (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
)
