Meganoton rufescens (Butler, [1875])
(previously known as Diludia rubescens)
SPHINGINAE,   SPHINGIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Meganoton rufescens
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The Caterpillars of this species are green with a yellow patch on the thorax, and white diagonal stripes on each segment. The caterpillars feed on various plants, including :

  • Annona species ( ANNONACEAE ),
  • Zig Zag Vine ( Melodorum leichhardtii, ANNONACEAE ),
  • Sausage Tree ( Kigelia pinnata, BIGNONIACEAE ), and
  • African Tulip Tree ( Spathodea campanulata, BIGNONIACEAE ).


    (Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

    The adult moths have a light and dark fawn pattern on their wings, with a small white dot edged in black near the centre of each fore wing. They have a wingspan of about 13 cms.

    The species is found as various subspecies in south east Asia, including:

  • Borneo,
  • India,
  • Philippines,
  • Thailand,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Queensland.


    Further reading :

    Arthur G. Butler,
    Descriptions of thirty-three new or little-known species of Sphingidae in the collection of the British Museum,
    Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,
    Volume for 1875, pp. 12-13, No. 26.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 206.


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    (updated 12 February 2010, 15 January 2017)