Macroglossum melas is a moth

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 Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

 and the Salomon Islands

Salomon Islands

The Salomon Islands or Salomon Atoll is a small atoll of the Chagos Archipelago, British Indian Ocean Territory.-Description:It is located in the Northeast of the Chagos Archipelago, between Blenheim Reef and Peros Banhos...

.

It is similar to Macroglossum heliophila

Macroglossum heliophila

Macroglossum heliophila is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found from north-eastern India across southern China to Cheju Island , southern Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines and then south through Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to New Guinea and neighbouring islands. It is also...

, but the body and wings have a much deeper colour and the upper- and undersides are almost black. The head upperside has a thin white line above the eye. The abdomen upperside has small yellow spots. The underside of the palpus, middle of the thorax and mesial patches of the abdomen are white and the side tufts of the abdomen are white-tipped. The forewing upperside is slightly variable. Both wings undersides are grey at the extreme base.

Subspecies

• Macroglossum melas melas
• Macroglossum melas moriolum Rothschild & Jordan, 1916 (Salomon Islands)
• Macroglossum melas pullius Jordan, 1930 (Papua New Guinea)