Gnathothlibus vanuatuensis
Encyclopedia
Gnathothlibus vanuatuensis is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It is known from Vanuatu
.
The length of the forewings is 37.5-44.3 mm for males and 39.5-40.7 mm for females. It is similar to but differs from Gnathothlibus eras
and Gnathothlibus saccoi
by the complete absence of any long hair scales on the fore tarsi and clear reduction in length and thickness of the long hair scales covering fore tibiae in males. The upperside of the head, thorax and abdomen are uniform medium brown, with a thin lateral creamy-brown stripe running from the base of the antenna to the posterior of the thorax. The thorax has a wide creamy-brown patch posterior to labial palps. The abdominal segments each have a reddish-brown posterior margin contrasting with the brown ground colour. The abdomen has five small lateral black spots surrounded by white. The forewing upperside ground colour is brown with darker markings. The subbasal band is short, irregular and slightly darker. There is a small black discal spot with a brown-white centre. The postmedian line is prominent, dark and runs mostly straight from the costa to the inner margin. The marginal band is lighter brown and irregular. The forewing underside ground colour is burnt orange, speckled with dark brown distally, There is an irregular dark brown submarginal line running from the apex to the tornus The hindwing upperside ground colour is orange. The marginal band is dark brown from the apex to the tornus and the inner margin of the band irregular. The hindwing underside is orange-brown and heavily speckled with dark brown. The marginal area is darker from the apex to the tornus. The antemedian band is dark, mostly straight and thickest at the costa.
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 Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
.
The length of the forewings is 37.5-44.3 mm for males and 39.5-40.7 mm for females. It is similar to but differs from Gnathothlibus eras
Gnathothlibus eras
Gnathothlibus eras is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from the eastern Sunda Islands , Sulawesi, the Moluccas, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Micronesia and eastern Australia....
and Gnathothlibus saccoi
Gnathothlibus saccoi
Gnathothlibus saccoi is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from Vanuatu.The length of the forewings is 42-49 mm for males and 52-57 mm for females. It is similar to but differs from Gnathothlibus erotus in its larger size and broader wings with prominent markings. The antennae are...
by the complete absence of any long hair scales on the fore tarsi and clear reduction in length and thickness of the long hair scales covering fore tibiae in males. The upperside of the head, thorax and abdomen are uniform medium brown, with a thin lateral creamy-brown stripe running from the base of the antenna to the posterior of the thorax. The thorax has a wide creamy-brown patch posterior to labial palps. The abdominal segments each have a reddish-brown posterior margin contrasting with the brown ground colour. The abdomen has five small lateral black spots surrounded by white. The forewing upperside ground colour is brown with darker markings. The subbasal band is short, irregular and slightly darker. There is a small black discal spot with a brown-white centre. The postmedian line is prominent, dark and runs mostly straight from the costa to the inner margin. The marginal band is lighter brown and irregular. The forewing underside ground colour is burnt orange, speckled with dark brown distally, There is an irregular dark brown submarginal line running from the apex to the tornus The hindwing upperside ground colour is orange. The marginal band is dark brown from the apex to the tornus and the inner margin of the band irregular. The hindwing underside is orange-brown and heavily speckled with dark brown. The marginal area is darker from the apex to the tornus. The antemedian band is dark, mostly straight and thickest at the costa.