Rhagastis albomarginatus 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 the Himalaya, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Burma, Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 and Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

.

The forewing upperside has the first and third postmedian lines reduced to a series of prominent vein dots, the second postmedian line is very weak or absent, There is an inconspicuous and diffuse pale patch and a similar but less marked pale area. The pale band is reduced to an ill-defined patch near the anal angle. The fringe is weakly dentate with white with brown vein spots. The costal edge is at least partly creamy white. The hindwing underside has a small black discal spot.

Larvae of ssp. dichroae have been recorded feeding on Vernicia montana

Vernicia montana

Vernicia montana is a species of Vernicia in the spurge family, native to Southeast Asia, Southern China. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching a height . The leaves are large with three lobes. The monoecious white-petaled flowers emerged as inflorescences, containing both male and female...

and Dichroa febrifuga

Dichroa febrifuga

Dichroa febrifuga is a flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae.-Medicinal uses:It is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs.-External links:*...

, while the larvae of ssp. albomarginatus feed on Dichroa

Dichroa

Dichroa is a genus of 12 species of flowering plants in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia. They are deciduous shrubs growing to 1-3 m tall, with their leaves arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are produced in a broad inflorescence similar to that of the related...

, Hydrangea

Hydrangea

Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...

and Vitis

Vitis

Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce...

species. The larva of the nominate subspecies are green marked with pale blue as early instars. The final instar has a pale blue head. The body is dorsally yellow, grading laterally to pale grass green or bluish green, the flanks of the abdomen are crossed by long, oblique, pale blue stripes. The thorax is longitudinally striped. The horn is dark blue.

Subspecies

• Rhagastis albomarginatus albomarginatus (Himalaya, Taiwan, Burma)
• Rhagastis albomarginatus dichroae Mell, 1922 (China)
• Rhagastis albomarginatus everetti Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (Indonesia, including Borneo and Sumatra)