TELDAP Collections
A Slice of Wonder
Facets of Taiwan
Exhibitions
| Theretra oldenlandiae (Fabricius, 1775) 雙線條紋天蛾 |
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The Impatiens Hawk-moth Theretra oldenlandiae is widely spread in the Palearctic Asia, Oriental and Australian zoogeographic realms, but no subspecies is recognized. They are night flyers, but sometimes can also be found in the daytime. The species has a good adaptive and migratory ability, and inhabits at the edge of forests, open shrubs, fruit yards and flower gardens (Holloway, 1987). The species is median sized hawk-moth, has a wingspan of 60~74 mm. It is morphologically resembleing with Theretra silhetensis (Walker) whose distribution is considerably overlapped with that of T. oldenlandiae. T. oldenlandiae has a narrow, dark brown strip at the outer edge of a wider light stripe extending from the inner margin to the tip of each fore wing, whereas the corresponding dark brown strip is obscure in T. silhetensis. The larvae are black in coloration, with seven pairs round eye spots from metathorax to the 6th abdominal segment. There are six larval instars. The mature larvae may reach 7 cm in length. The hosts are diverse, including the plants from Araceae, Balsaminaceae, Rubiaceae and many other families. Occasionally the larvae are considered as minor pest to agricultural or horticultural plants such as taros and impatiens. The mature larva pupated in a loose cocoon by wrapping fallen leaves with silk.
The adults are quite commonly seen, and occur in summer and early fall in Taiwan (Bell & Scott, 1976; Chen, 1994).
National Museum of Natural Science (The Digital Museum of Nature & Culture)
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