Rhagastis lunata, the lunulate mottled hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Nepal, north-eastern India, Thailand, south-western China and Vietnam.[2]

Rhagastis lunata
Dorsal view
Ventral view
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Rhagastis
Species:
R. lunata
Binomial name
Rhagastis lunata
Synonyms
  • Choerocampa lunata Rothschild, 1900
  • Rhagastis lunata yunnanaria Chu & Wang, 1980
  • Rhagastis lunata yunnana Chu & Wang, 1983
  • Rhagastis lunata sikhimensis Rothschild & Jordan, 1903
  • Rhagastis lunata gehleni Bender, 1942

The wingspan is 72–86 mm. The antenna are longer and thicker than in all other Rhagastis species, except Rhagastis gloriosa (from which it differs in the lack of dark red bands on the forewing upperside, the apical black scaling being confined to the distal segments). The forewing upperside has a characteristic bluish-white submarginal line formed of crescent-shaped marks, the horns of which are directed basally. Both wings are pinkish-red, with traces of the ochreous ground colour distally. The black basal area of the forewing is reduced to a streak or patch behind the discal cell. The hindwing upperside has a well-defined orange-beige median band, including a series of vein dots.

References

edit
  1. ^ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2011-10-25.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Pittaway, A. R.; Kitching, I. J. (2018). "Rhagastis lunata (Rothschild, 1900) -- Lunulate mottled hawkmoth". Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic. Retrieved December 17, 2018.