Sphinx ligustri

Privet hawk moth
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Sphinx
Species:	S. ligustri
Binomial name
	Sphinx ligustri; Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Synonyms
	Sphinx chishimensis Matsumura, 1929 ; Sphinx spiraeae Esper, 1800 ; Sphinx ligustri albescens Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri amurensis Oberthür, 1886 ; Sphinx ligustri brunnea Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri brunnescens (Lempke, 1959) ; Sphinx ligustri cingulata (Lempke, 1964) ; Sphinx ligustri eichleri Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1992 ; Sphinx ligustri fraxini Dannehl, 1925 ; Sphinx ligustri grisea (Closs, 1917) ; Sphinx ligustri incerta Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri intermedia Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri lutescens Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri nisseni Rothschild & Jordan, 1916 ; Sphinx ligustri obscura Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri pallida Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri perversa Gehlen, 1928 ; Sphinx ligustri postrufescens (Lempke, 1959) ; Sphinx ligustri rosacea Rebel, 1910 ; Sphinx ligustri seydeli Debauche, 1934 ; Sphinx ligustri subpallida Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri typica Tutt, 1904 ; Sphinx ligustri unifasciata Gschwandner, 1912 ; Sphinx ligustri weryi Rungs, 1977 ; Sphinx ligustri zolotuhini Eitschberger & Lukhtanov, 1996 ;

Sphinx ligustri, the privet hawk moth, is a moth found in most of the Palearctic ecozone. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Description

It has a 12 centimetres (4.7 in) wingspan (generally deflexed at rest), and is found in urban areas, forests and woodlands.

The male privet hawk moth can make a hissing sound, if disturbed, by rubbing together a set of scales and spines at the end of its abdomen.

The larvae are usually found between July and August: and bury themselves in the earth when preparing to become a pupa. They then fly in the following June.[2]

Diet

As its name describes, the caterpillars feed on privets, as well as ash trees, lilacs, jasmine, and a number of other plants.

Gallery

Male, dorsal side
Male, ventral side
Female, dorsal side
Female, ventral side

Caterpillar
Pupating
Pupa
Pupa, caterpillar, and adult

References

"CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
Donovan, Edward (1792). The Natural History of British Insects: Explaining Them in Their Several States, With the Periods of Their Transformations, Their Food, Economy, &c. Together With the History of Such Minute Insects As Require Investigation by the Microscope: The Whole Illustrated by Coloured Figures, Designed and Executed from Living Specimens. London. p. 79.

External links

Media related to Sphinx ligustri at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Sphinx ligustri at Wikispecies
"69.006 BF1976 Privet Hawk-moth Sphinx ligustri Linnaeus, 1758". UKMoths. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
Pittaway, A. R. (2018). "Sphinx Linnaeus, 1758". Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
"06832 Sphinx ligustri Linnaeus, 1758 - Ligusterschwärmer". Lepiforum e.V. Retrieved December 13, 2018.

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[1] "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2011-11-01.

[2] Donovan, Edward (1792). The Natural History of British Insects: Explaining Them in Their Several States, With the Periods of Their Transformations, Their Food, Economy, &c. Together With the History of Such Minute Insects As Require Investigation by the Microscope: The Whole Illustrated by Coloured Figures, Designed and Executed from Living Specimens. London. p. 79.