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Agrius convolvuli

Sweet-potato Hawkmoth

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult feeding	45KB
Image:	Adult - resting	56KB
Image:	Specimen - wings and proboscis extended	72KB
Article:	Hummingbirds in the Cook Islands? Gerald McCormack, September 2005	Read

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Sweet-potato Hawkmoth, Convolvulus Hawkmoth, Convolvulus Sphinx-Moth, Sweet-potato Hawk-moth, Sweet-potato Hornworm [caterpillar]

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE w.Europe, Africa - Asia - French Polynesia, New Zealand

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, horticultural

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Pest

KEY FEATURES: Large moth (43mmTL). Forewings variably grey; hindwings grey with 3 blackish bands. Thorax grey; abdomen grey with pink, black and whitish marks on teh sides. Proboscis to 12cm. CATERPILLAR brown to olive-green with slanting pale bar on each segment; posterior horn.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Agrius convolvuli (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Herse convolvuli; Sphinx convolvuli [O]; Sphinx abadonna; Sphinx patatas

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; HEXAPODA; INSECTA; PTERYGOTA; Lepidoptera; SPHINGIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Pest. Comments: Caterpillars feed on CONVULVULACEAE such as Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas).

IDENTIFICATION: Large moth (5cmTL, 10cm Wingspan) - female larger than male. Wings fold roof-like over body. Forewings light to dark grey, w/wo dark patches and markings; subterminal grey-brown wavy line; terminal irregular toothed whitish line. Hind wings grey with 3 blackish bands. Thorax grey, silvery underneath. Abdomen grey above, lighter beneath; pink, black and whitish markings along sides. Legs cream. Head grey, eyes large, proboscis (=haustellum) can reach 10cm. Antennae slender, cream. CATERPILLAR to 10cm TL feeds on Morning-glory plants (CONVOLVULACEAE), have the hawkmoth a long horn posteriorly - called hornwroms. Body brownish to olive-green with a slanting pale stripe on the side of each segment. PUPA to 6cm with anterio-ventral "jug-handle" (containing the adult haustellum or "tongue").

GENERAL NOTE: Mainly active from dusk to midnight, hovering over flowers to suck their nectar with the long proboscis (to 13cm). Sometimes attracted to lights.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: BESO99, specimen #486, ID J.Dugdale 4/2000

References:
Special Reference: PM79

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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