Agrius convolvuli
{{short description|Species of moth}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Agrius convolvuli from Sri Lanka.jpg
| image2 = Agrius convolvuli side view.jpg
| genus = Agrius
| species = convolvuli
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758){{cite web|url=http://www.cate-sphingidae.org/taxonomy/Agrius/convolvuli.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113085759/http://www.cate-sphingidae.org/taxonomy/Agrius/convolvuli.html|archive-date=2012-11-13|url-status=dead|title=CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae |publisher=Cate-sphingidae.org |access-date=2011-11-01}}
| synonyms =
- Sphinx convolvuli Linnaeus, 1758
- Herse convolvuli
- Protoparce orientalis Butler, 1876
- Sphinx abadonna Fabricius, 1798
- Sphinx distans Butler, 1876{{cite web |last1=Pittaway |first1=A. R. |last2=Kitching |first2=I. J. |url=http://tpittaway.tripod.com/china/a_con.htm |title=Agrius convolvuli (Linnaeus, 1758) -- Convolvulus hawkmoth |website=Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic |access-date=December 13, 2018}}
- Sphinx patatas Ménétriés, 1857
- Sphinx pseudoconvolvuli Schaufuss, 1870
- Sphinx roseafasciata Koch, 1865
- Sphinx convolvuli alicea Neuburger, 1899
- Sphinx convolvuli batatae Christ, 1882
- Sphinx convolvuli nigricans Cannaviello, 1900
- Agrius convolvuli aksuensis O. Bang-Haas, 1927
- Agrius convolvuli fuscosignata Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli grisea Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli ichangensis Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli intermedia Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli javanensis Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli major Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli minor Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli obscura Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli suffusa Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli tahitiensis Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli unicolor Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli variegata Tutt, 1904
- Agrius convolvuli virgata Tutt, 1904
- Herse convolvuli extincta Gehlen, 1928
- Herse convolvuli marshallensis Clark, 1922
- Herse convolvuli peitaihoensis Clark, 1922
- Herse convolvuli posticoconflua Bryk, 1946
- Protoparce convolvuli fasciata Pillich, 1909
- Protoparce convolvuli indica Skell, 1913
| range_map = Agrius convolvuli distribution map.svg
| range_map_caption = Distribution (red – permanent; orange – migrant)
}}
Agrius convolvuli, the convolvulus hawk-moth, is a large hawk-moth. It is common throughout Europe, Asia, Africa,{{Cite journal|jstor = 109269|title = Lepidoptera|last1 = Butler|first1 = Arthur Gardiner|journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London|year = 1879|volume = 168|pages = 541–544| bibcode=1879RSPT..168..541G }} Australia{{cite web|url=http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Convolvulus-Hawk-moth/Agrius/convolvuli.html |title=Ozanimals |publisher=Ozanimals |access-date=2011-11-01}} and New Zealand,{{cite web|title=Agrius convolvuli (Linnaeus, 1758)|url=http://www.nzor.org.nz/names/4ffefc9b-6c20-4df7-b11b-3e0ea5f3507f|website=www.nzor.org.nz|publisher=Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd|access-date=16 July 2017}} partly as a migrant. In New Zealand, it is also known as the kumara moth, and in the Māori language as hīhue.{{Cite web|url=http://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=h%C4%ABhue|title=hīhue - Māori Dictionary|last=www.vo2.co.nz|website=maoridictionary.co.nz|language=en|access-date=2018-02-14}}
Description and habits
The wingspan is 80–105 mm. This hawkmoth's basic coloration is in grayish tones, but the abdomen has a broad gray dorsal stripe and pink and black bands edged with white on the sides. The hindwings are light gray with darker broad crosslines.{{cite book |last=Hampson |first=G. F. |author-link=George Hampson |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/180068#page/5/mode/1up |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume I |publisher=Taylor and Francis |year=1892 |volume=Moths - I |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}
Agrius convolvuli - MHNT CUT 2010 0 470 - Gironde France - Male dorsal.jpg|♂
Agrius convolvuli - MHNT CUT 2010 0 470 - Gironde France - Male ventral.jpg|♂ △
Agrius convolvuli - MHNT CUT 2010 0 470 - Gironde France - Female dorsal.jpg| ♀
Agrius convolvuli - MHNT CUT 2010 0 470 - Gironde France - Female ventral.jpg|♀ △
Its favourite time is around sunset and during the twilight, when it is seen in gardens hovering over the flowers. This moth is very attracted to light, so it is often killed by cars on highways. Its caterpillars eat the leaves of the Convolvulus, hence its Latin name "convolvuli". Other recorded food plants include a wide range of plants in the families Araceae, Convolvulaceae, Leguminosae and Malvaceae. It can be a pest of cultivated Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato or kūmara) in New Zealand and the Pacific. It feeds on the wing and has a very long proboscis (longer than its body) that enables it to feed on long trumpet-like flowers such as Nicotiana sylvestris.Michael Chinery, Collins Guide to the Insects of Great Britain and Western Europe
The caterpillars can be in a number of different colours. As well as brown (pictured below) they have been seen in bright green and black.{{cite web |last1=Pittaway |first1=A. R. |last2=Kitching |first2=I. J. |url=http://tpittaway.tripod.com/china/a_con.htm |title=Agrius convolvuli (Linnaeus, 1758) -- Convolvulus hawkmoth |website=Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic |access-date=December 13, 2018}}
Similar species
A. convolvuli is unmistakable in the eastern area of distribution, in the western area of distribution it can be mistaken for Agrius cingulata. This species, found mainly in South and Central America, is repeatedly detected on the western shores of Europe. Agrius cingulata can be distinguished on the basis of the clearly stronger pink colouring of the abdominal segments and a similarly coloured rear wing base. In addition, Agrius convolvuli form pseudoconvolvuli Schaufuss, 1870 has some resemblance with North American species in the genus Manduca, for instance Manduca sexta.{{Cn|date=May 2023}}
Gallery
File:Agrius convoluli variation sjh.JPG|Agrius convoluli variation
File:Agrius convolvuli korseby.jpeg|Larva of Agrius convolvuli
File:Agrius convolvuli LC0286.jpg|Larva of Agrius convolvuli
File:Windenschwärmer Puppe Erdkokon.jpg|Pupa of Agrius convolvuli
Convolvulus hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli).jpg|Feeding in flight
Convolvulus hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli) 2.jpg|Showing length of proboscis
Both near Rila Monastery, Bulgaria
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|italic=1}}
- [https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/agrius-convolvuli/ Convolvulus Hawk-moth] at UKMoths
- Description in Richard South The Moths of the British Isles
- [http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Agrius_Convolvuli Lepiforum e.V.]
{{Taxonbar |from=Q183285}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agrius Convolvuli}}