Polyptychus dentatus
Encyclopedia
Polyptychus dentatus is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It is known from Sri Lanka
, tropical India
and tropical Pakistan
.
The wingspan
is 92-120 mm. The forewing upperside ground colour is grey-brown with darker brown transverse lines. The antemedian, postmedian and submarginal lines are well-developed and almost straight. The median line is sinuous and inconspicuous. There is a strongly serrate line present between the postmedian and submarginal lines.
In India, larvae have been recorded on Cordia dichotoma
, Cordia sebestena and Ehretia laevis. There are six larval instars, the first of which does not eat any plant material, instead the newly hatched larva eats the egg-shell and then rests without eating for about two days, after which it makes the first moult and only then commences feeding on leaves. Mature larvae are about 100 mm long.
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...
, tropical India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and tropical Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
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 92-120 mm. The forewing upperside ground colour is grey-brown with darker brown transverse lines. The antemedian, postmedian and submarginal lines are well-developed and almost straight. The median line is sinuous and inconspicuous. There is a strongly serrate line present between the postmedian and submarginal lines.
In India, larvae have been recorded on Cordia dichotoma
Cordia dichotoma
Cordia dichotoma is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the Indomalaya ecozone, northern Australia, and western Melanesia. Common names include fragrant manjack, snotty gobbles, glue berry, pink pearl, bird lime tree, Indian cherry, लसोड़ा lasoda and...
, Cordia sebestena and Ehretia laevis. There are six larval instars, the first of which does not eat any plant material, instead the newly hatched larva eats the egg-shell and then rests without eating for about two days, after which it makes the first moult and only then commences feeding on leaves. Mature larvae are about 100 mm long.