Macroglossum tangalleum 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 Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

.

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 54.5 mm for males and 50.7 mm for females. The forewing upperside is very similar to Macroglossum napolovi

Macroglossum napolovi

Macroglossum napolovi is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from northern Vietnam....

in the uniform reddish-brown ground colour against which the pattern of transverse bands and lines is barely discernible. The forewing underside and hindwing underside are identical to Macroglossum napolovi. The hindwing upperside very similar to that of Macroglossum napolovi, but the median yellow band is narrower and interrupted by black scaling along the veins.