Biology:Basiothia medea

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Short description: Species of moth


Small verdant hawk
Basiothia medea.JPG
Basiothia medea.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
B. medea
Binomial name
Basiothia medea
(Fabricius, 1781)[1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx medea Fabricius, 1781
  • Sphinx minus Fabricius, 1787
  • Sphinx idrieus Drury, 1782
  • Sphinx clio Fabricius, 1793
  • Sphinx onothberina Martyn, 1797
  • Choerocampa transfigurata Wallengren, 1860
  • Basiothia nigrita Clark, 1920
  • Basiothia idricus Walker, 1856

Basiothia medea, the small verdant hawk, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is common in open habitats throughout the Ethiopian Region, including Madagascar . It is however probably absent from the equatorial forest belt, except as a vagrant. The species is an active migrant.[2]

The length of the forewings is 22–25 mm and the wingspan is 49–63 mm. The body is grass green. The forewings are grass green with two or three faint darker green transverse lines. The hindwings are dull orange with a narrow brown margin.

The larvae feed on Spermacoce natalensis, Dioda, Spermacoce, Pentas and Pentasinia species.[3]

References

Wikidata ☰ Q1821704 entry