Hippotion balsaminae

Hippotion balsaminae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Hippotion
Species:	H. balsaminae
Binomial name
Hippotion balsaminae (Walker, 1856)[1]
Synonyms
Chaerocampa balsaminae Walker, 1856 Sphinx pinastrina Butler, 1876

Hippotion balsaminae is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is common in most habitats throughout the Ethiopian Region, including Madagascar.^[2]

The length of the forewings is 24–28 mm and the wingspan is 52–70 mm. The head and body are very pale sandy brown, with faint darker longitudinal lines. The forewings are of the same colour with numerous thin darker, regular oblique and submarginal lines meeting at the apex. The two anterior oblique lines darker and more prominent than the others. The hindwings are blackish with a very light sandy brown submarginal line.

The larvae feed on the leaves of Jussieua repens.

References

1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
2. "Revised Catalogue of the African Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) with Descriptions of the East African species" (PDF). Biodiversitylibrary.org. Retrieved 2011-10-25.

• Pinhey, E (1962): Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town.