Hyles zygophylli
Encyclopedia
The Bean-caper Hawkmoth (Hyles zygophylli) is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It is found in western and eastern Turkey
, Armenia
, eastern Transcaucasia, Daghestan, northern Syria
, northern Iran
, Turkmenistan
, Kazakhstan
, Uzbekistan
, Kyrgyzstan
, Tajikistan
and northern Afghanistan
. It is also found from western, northern and central Xinjiang
Province east to Shaanxi
Province and north to Mongolia
. There is one record of a vagrant from Croatia
.
The wingspan
is 60–75 mm. Adults are on wing from the end of April to mid May, July or August and sometimes mid September in two or three generations. In cooler mountainous areas, most are on wing during June and July, with a partial second generation in late September or October.
The larvae feed on Zygophyllum fabago
and other Zygophyllum
species such as Zygophyllum oxianum. They possibly also feed on flower-heads of Eremurus
. Larvae have also been reared on Tribulus
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 found in western and eastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, eastern Transcaucasia, Daghestan, northern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, northern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
and northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. It is also found from western, northern and central Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
Province east to Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
Province and north to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. There is one record of a vagrant from Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
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 60–75 mm. Adults are on wing from the end of April to mid May, July or August and sometimes mid September in two or three generations. In cooler mountainous areas, most are on wing during June and July, with a partial second generation in late September or October.
The larvae feed on Zygophyllum fabago
Zygophyllum fabago
Zygophyllum fabago is a species of plant known by the common name Syrian bean-caper. It is considered a noxious weed of economic importance in many of the western United States. It is native to Asia and the Middle East.-Growth:...
and other Zygophyllum
Zygophyllum
Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν , meaning "yoke," and φυλλον , meaning "leaf." It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets...
species such as Zygophyllum oxianum. They possibly also feed on flower-heads of Eremurus
Eremurus
Eremurus is a genus of 35-40 deciduous perennial flowers, also known as the foxtail lilies or desert candles. The inflorescence looks similar to a long spike or a bottlebrush. It consists of many flowers in copper, bright yellow, snow white, pastel pink, orange or any combination of those colors....
. Larvae have also been reared on Tribulus
Tribulus
Tribulus is a genus of plants found in many warm regions. The best-known member is T. terrestris , a widespread weed and also the source of a dietary supplement....
species.