Sphingidae 276057 222951781 2008-07-01T21:57:55Z 134.67.6.14 /* Adults */ {{refimprove|date=February 2008}} :''For a complete species list of this family, see the [[Sphingidae species list]].'' {{Taxobox | name = Hawk moths | image = IC Macroglossum stellatarum1 NR.jpg | image_width = 200px | image_caption = [[Macroglossum stellatarum|Hummingbird hawk moth]]<br/>''Macroglossum stellatarum'' | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropoda]] | classis = [[Insecta]] | ordo = [[Lepidoptera]] | unranked_familia = [[Macrolepidoptera]] | superfamilia = [[Bombycoidea]] | familia = '''Sphingidae''' | familia_authority = [[Pierre André Latreille|Latreille]], [[1802]] | type_species = ''[[Sphinx ligustri]]'' | type_species_authority = [[Linnaeus]], [[1758]] | diversity = About 200 genera,<br>roughly 1,200 species | diversity_link = Sphingidae species list | subdivision_ranks = [[Subfamilies]] | subdivision = [[Macroglossinae (Lepidoptera)|Macroglossinae]]<br/> [[Smerinthinae]]<br/> [[Sphinginae]]<br/> }} '''Sphingidae''' is a family of moths ([[Lepidoptera]]), commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species (Grimaldi & Engel, 2005). It is best represented in the [[tropics]] but there are species in every region (Scoble, 1995). They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid, sustained flying ability (Scoble, 1995). The narrow wings and streamlined abdomen are clearly{{fact|date=November 2007}} adaptations for rapid flight. Some hawk moths, like the [[Macroglossum stellatarum|hummingbird hawk moth]], hover in midair while they feed on [[nectar]] from [[flowers]] and are sometimes mistaken for [[hummingbird]]s. This hovering capability has evolved only three times in nectar feeders: in hummingbirds, certain bats, and these sphingids (Kitching, 2002) (an example of [[convergent evolution]]). Sphingids have been much studied for their flying ability, especially their ability to move rapidly from side to side while hovering, called 'swing-hovering.' It is thought that this evolved to deal with ambush predators that lie in wait in flowers (Kitching, 2002). Some of the sphingids are some of the fastest flying [[insect]]s, capable of flying at over 50&nbsp;[[kilometre per hour|km/h]] (30&nbsp;[[miles per hour]]). They have a wingspan of 35-150&nbsp;[[millimetre|mm]]. ==Life cycle== Most species are multivoltine, capable of producing several generations a year if weather conditions permit (Pittaway, 1993). ===Eggs=== Females lay translucent greenish, flattened, smooth eggs (Scoble, 1995). Eggs are usually laid singly (Grimaldi & Engel, 2005) on the host plants (Pittaway, 1993). Egg development time varies highly, from 3 to 21 days (Pittaway, 1993). ===Larvae=== [[Image:Hyles-gallii-caterpillar.jpg|thumb|194px|right|A ''[[Hyles gallii]]'' caterpillar seeking a place to pupate, the colour of the caterpillar darkens before pupation.]] Sphingid [[caterpillar]]s are medium to large in size, with stout bodies. They have 5 pairs of prolegs (Pittaway, 1993). Usually their bodies lack any hairs or tubercules, but most species have a "horn" at the posterior end (Scoble, 1995), which may be reduced to a button, or absent, in the final [[instar]] (Pittaway, 1993). Many are [[cryptic]] greens and browns, and have countershading patterns to conceal them. Others are more conspicuously coloured, typically with white spots on a black or yellow background along the length of the body. A pattern of diagonal slashes along the side is a common feature. When resting, the [[larva]] usually holds the legs off the surface and tucks its head underneath, which gives rise to the name 'sphinx moth' (Pittaway 1993). Some tropical larvae are thought to mimic snakes (Scoble, 1995). Larvae are quick to regurgitate their sticky, often toxic, [[foregut]] contents on attackers such as ants and parasitoids (Pittaway, 1993). Development rate depends on temperature, and to speed development some northern and high altitude species sunbathe (Pittaway, 1993). ===Pupae=== In some sphingidae, the pupa has a free proboscis, rather than being fused to the pupal case as is most common in Macrolepidoptera (Scoble, 1995). They have a [[cremaster]] at the tip of the abdomen (Pittaway, 1993). Usually they pupate off the host plant, in an underground chamber, among rocks, or in a loose cocoon (Pittaway, 1993). In most species, the pupa is the overwintering stage. ===Adults=== ====Description==== Antennae are generally not very feathery, even in the males (Scoble, 1995). They lack [[tympanal organ]]s but members of the tribe Choerocampini have hearing organs on their heads (Scoble, 1995). They have a [[frenulum]] and [[retinaculum of a moth|retinaculum ]] to join hindwings and forewings (Scoble, 1995). The thorax, abdomen, and wings are densely covered in scales. Sphingids may have a reduced proboscis, but most have a very long proboscis (Scoble, 1995). They use it to feed on nectar from flowers. Most are [[crepuscular]] or [[nocturnal]], but some species fly during the day (Pittaway, 1993). Both males and females are relatively long-lived (living 10 to 30 days) (Pittaway, 1993). Prior to flight, most species shiver their flight muscles to warm them up, and, during flight, body temperatures may surpass 40°C (Pittaway, 1993) . In some species, [[sexual dimorphism]] (differences in form between the sexes) is quite marked. For example, in the African species ''Herse convolvuli'' (the [[Convolvulus]] or [[Morning Glory (Flower)|Morning Glory]] Hawk Moth), the antennae are thicker and wing markings more mottled in the male than in the female. Only males have both an undivided frenular hook and a retinaculum. Also all male hawk moths have a partial comb of hairs along their antennae. ([[Elliot_Pinhey|Pinhey]], 1962) Females call males to them with [[pheromone]]s. The male may douse the female with pheromone (Pittaway, 1993) before mating. ====Behaviour==== Some species fly only for short periods either around dusk or dawn, while other species only appear later in the evening and others around midnight. But such species may occasionally be seen feeding at flowers during the day. There are a few common species in Africa, such as ''Cephonodes hylas virescens'' (the Oriental Bee Hawk), ''Leucostrophus hirundo'' and ''Macroglossum trochilus'', which are diurnal. (Pinhey, 1962) ==Food plants== ===Larvae=== Sphingid larvae tend to be specific feeders, rather than generalists (Pittaway, 1993). Compared to similarly sized [[Saturniidae|saturniids]], sphingids eat soft young leaves of host plants with small [[toxic]] [[molecule]]s, and chew and mash the food into very small bits (Bernays & Janzen, 1988). Some species can tolerate quite high concentrations of specific toxins. [[Tobacco hornworm]]s ''Manduca sexta'' detoxify and rapidly excrete [[nicotine]], as do several other related sphinx moths in the subfamilies [[Sphinginae]] and [[Macroglossinae (Lepidoptera)|Macroglossinae]], but members of [[Smerinthinae]] that were tested are susceptible (Wink & Thiele, 2002). They did not sequester the toxin in their tissues; 98% was excreted. However, other species, such as ''Hyles euphorbiae'' and ''Daphnis nerii'' do sequester toxins from their hosts, but do not pass them on to the adult stage (Pittaway, 1993). ===Adults=== [[Image:Hemaris thysbe.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''Hemaris thysbe'' or Hummingbird Clearwing Moth feeding]]Most adults feed on nectar, although a few tropical species feed on eye secretions and the [[Death's-head Hawkmoth]] steals honey from bees (Pittaway, 1993). Night-flying sphingids tend to prefer pale flowers with long corolla tube and a sweet odour, a [[pollination syndrome]] known as 'sphingophily' (Kitching, 2002). Some species are quite general in visitations, while others are very specific, with the plant only being successfully pollinated by a particular species of moth (Kitching, 2002). Orchids frequently have such specific relations with hawkmoths, and very long corolla tubes. The Comet Orchid, ''[[Angraecum sesquipedale]]'', a rare [[Madagascar|Malagasy]] flower with its nectar stored at the bottom of a 30 cm long tube was described in 1822 by Aubert du Petit-Thouars, and later [[Charles Darwin]] famously predicted that there must be some specialised animal to feed from it: <blockquote>"[''A. sesquipetale'' has] nectaries 11 and a half inches long, with only the lower inch and a half filled with very sweet nectar [...] it is, however, surprising, that any insect should be able to reach the nectar: our English sphinxes have probosces as long as their bodies; but in Madagascar there must be moths with probosces capable of extension to a length of between 10 and 12 inches!" (Darwin, 1862:197-198)</blockquote> [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] published a sort of "[[Wanted poster]]" (properly, a drawing in a book) [http://perso.orange.fr/cryptozoo/dossiers/xanthopan_wallace.jpg] of how this butterfly might look like, and, concurring with his colleague, added: <blockquote>"[The proboscis of a hawkmoth] from tropical Africa (''[Xanthopan] morganii'') is seven inches and a half. A species having a proboscis two or three inches longer could reach the nectar in the largest flowers of ''Angræcum sesquipedale'', whose nectaries vary in length from ten to fourteen inches. That such a moth exists in Madagascar may be safely predicted, and naturalists who visit that island should search for it with as much confidence as astronomers searched for the planet [[Neptune]], – and they will be equally successful." (Wallace, 1867)</blockquote> Both founders of [[evolutionary theory]] were met with ridicule{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, but 21 years later, the hawkmoth in question found and described as a [[subspecies]] of the one mentioned by Wallace: ''[[Xanthopan morgani|Xanthopan morganii praedicta]]'' (Rothschild and Jordan, 1903). Appropriately, the subspecific name ''praedicta'' ("the predicted one") commemorates Darwin's and Wallace's prediction, but only the latter lived to see "their" hawkmoth being found and described, and the subspecies has been subsequently declared as invalid. ==Representative species== There are around 1200 species of hawk moth, classified into around 200 genera. Some of the best known species are: * [[Sphinx ligustri|Privet hawkmoth]] (''Sphinx ligustri'') * [[Death's-head Hawkmoth|Death's-head Hawkmoth]] (''[[Acherontia]] atropos'') * [[Mimas tiliae|Lime Hawk-moth]] (''Mimas tiliae'') * [[Laothoe populi|Poplar Hawk-moth]] (''Laothoe populi'') * [[Ceratomia catalpae|Catalpa Sphinx]] (''Ceratomia catalpae'') * [[Macroglossum stellatarum|Hummingbird hawk moth]] (''Macroglossum stellatarum'') * [[Deilephila elpenor|Elephant hawk moth]] (''Deilephila elpenor'') * [[Hippotion celerio|Vine hawk moth]] (''Hippotion celerio'') * [[Hyles euphorbiae|Spurge hawk moth]] (''Hyles euphorbiae'') * [[Daphnis nerii|Oleander hawk moth]] (''Daphnis nerii'') == Gallery == <gallery> Image:Clearwing5239.JPG|[[Hemaris diffinis|Snowberry clearwing]] (''Hemaris diffinis''), [[Lake Junaluska, North Carolina]] Image:Hawk moth caterpillar.jpg|[[Hippotion celerio|Vine hawk moth]] larva (''Hippotion celerio'') Image:Hawkmoth2.jpg|''[[Sphinx ligustri]]'' larva Image:Hyles-gallii-caterpillar.jpg|Bedstraw Hawkmoth larva (''[[Hyles gallii]]''), [[Uppsala]], [[Sweden]] Image:Spurge Hawk Moth larva.JPG|Spurge Hawkmoth larva (''[[Hyles euphorbiae]]''), Ardèche, France Image:Bee_hawk_moth_newspaper.jpg|Bee Hawk moth (''Cephonodes kingii''), [[Crows Nest, New South Wales]] Image:Oleander_Hawk_Moth.jpg|[[Daphnis nerii|Oleander Hawk Moth]] (''Daphnis nerii''), [[Hugli-Chuchura|Hooghly]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. Image:Oleander_Hawk_Moth_Caterpillar.jpg|[[Daphnis nerii|Oleander Hawk Moth]] (''Daphnis nerii'') larva, [[Tak Province|Tak]], [[Thailand]] </gallery> ==See also== * [[Sphingidae species list]]. * [[List of moths of India (Sphingidae)]]. ==References== * '''Bernays''', E. A. & '''Janzen''', D. H. (1988): Saturniid and Sphingid caterpillars - 2 ways to eat leaves. ''[[Ecology (journal)|Ecology]]'' '''69'''(4): 1153-1160. <small>{{DOI|10.2307/1941269}}</small> [http://fusion.sas.upenn.edu/caterpillar/files/related/BernaysJanzenEat1988.pdf PDF fulltext] * '''Darwin''', Charles (1862): ''On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing'' John Murray, London. [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F800&viewtype=text&pageseq=1 HTML fulltext] * '''Grimaldi''', David & '''Engel''', Michael S. (2005): ''Evolution of the Insects''. Cambridge University Press. <small>ISBN 0521821495</small> * '''Kitching''', Ian J. (2002): The phylogenetic relationships of Morgan's Sphinx, ''Xanthopan morganii'' (Walker), the tribe Acherontiini, and allied long-tongued hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae, Sphinginae). ''[[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|Zool. J. Linn. Soc.]]'' '''135'''(4): 471-527. <small>{{DOI|10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00021.x}}</small> (HTML abstract) * '''Pittaway''', A. R. (1993): ''The hawkmoths of the western Palaearctic''. Harley Books & Natural History Museum, London. <small>ISBN 0946589216</small> * '''Rothschild''', Walter & '''Jordan''', Karl (1903): A revision of the lepidopterous family Sphingidae. ''Novitates Zoologicae'' '''9'''(Supplement): 1–972. * '''Scoble''', Malcolm J. (1995): ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity'' (2nd edition). Oxford University Press & Natural History Museum London. <small>ISBN 0198549520</small> * '''Wallace''', Alfred Russel (1867): Creation by law. ''Quarterly Journal of Science'' '''4''': 470–488. [http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/wallace/S140.htm HTML fulltext] * '''Wink''', M. & '''Theile''', Vera (2002): Alkaloid tolerance in ''Manduca sexta '' and phylogenetically related sphingids (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). ''Chemoecology'' '''12''': 29–46. <small>{{DOI|10.1007/s00049-002-8324-2}}</small> [http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/2002/29_2002.pdf PDF fulltext] * '''Pinhey''', E (1962): ''Hawk Moths of Central and Southern Africa''. Longmans Southern Africa, Cape Town. == External links == {{commonscat|Sphingidae}} {{wikispecies|Sphingidae}} * [http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/usatable.htm Sphingidae of the United States] *[http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/Files/Live/Living40F.shtml Pictures] * [http://www.amonline.net.au/Factsheets/hawk_moths.htm Australian Museum Fact Sheet - Hawk Moths] * [http://www.cate-sphingidae.org/ CATE-Sphingidae: a recently initiated project to produce a "one-stop shop" for Sphingidae taxonomy] * [http://www.ento.csiro.au/gallery/moths/Sphingidae CSIRO: Australian Moths Online - Sphingidae] * [http://www.insecta-web.org/cgi-bin/MWM/db_typen/display.pl?tname=family&fam=Sphingidae List of Sphingidae Types] (Museum Witt München). {{Lepidoptera}} [[Category:Moths]] [[Category:Sphingidae| ]] [[de:Schwärmer (Schmetterling)]] [[es:Sphingidae]] [[fr:Sphingidae]] [[hsb:Frunčaki]] [[it:Sphingidae]] [[he:רפרפיים]] [[lt:Sfinksai]] [[nl:Sphingidae]] [[ja:スズメガ]] [[no:Svermere]] [[pl:Zawisakowate]] [[pt:Sphingidae]] [[ru:Бражники]] [[fi:Kiitäjät (perhosheimo)]] [[sv:Svärmare]] [[tr:Sphingidae]]