Temnora avinoffi 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 Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 to Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

 and Gabon

Gabon

Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

.

The forewing upperside pattern is in general similar to Temnora subapicalis subapicalis

Temnora subapicalis

Temnora subapicalis is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from highland forest in central Kenya and also in Zimbabwe.The length of the forewings is about 24 mm for males and 26 mm for females...

in that the ground colour is dark brown and the straight oblique line runs from the middle of the costa and is edged basally with a pale coloration. It is however immediately distinguishable by the shape of the outer margin of the forewing, which is strongly convex and strongly crenulated. The forewing upperside has a purple flush distal of the oblique line. The forewing underside is black basally, light brown apically and the submarginal line is irregular. The hindwing upperside is black and unicolorous. The hindwing underside is light brown, with faint wavy dark brown median, postmedian and submarginal lines.

Subspecies

• Temnora avinoffi avinoffi
• Temnora avinoffi biokoensis Darge, 1989 (Bioko)