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Hippotion celerio

Taro Hawkmoth

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Specimen (MoA collection, Totokoitu)	43KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Taro Hawkmoth, Taro Hawk-moth, Taro Hornworm [caterpillar], Silver-striped Hawkmoth, Vine Hawkmoth, Grape-vine Hawkmoth, Gabi Hawkmoth

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE s.Europe, n.Africa - Indonesia / Australia - Samoa

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, horticultural

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Pest (elsewhere)

KEY FEATURES: TO 4cm TL, and wingspan 8cm. Forewings striped brown and white; Hindwings red. CATERPILLAR to 9cm; brown, green, or dark grey; large eyespot on side of first abdominal segment, and 2 smaller yellow spots on second segment. PUPA to 5cm, grey-brown with dark brown specks, in debris on soil.

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

Hippotion celerio (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Spinx celerio [O]; Spinx tisiphone

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

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Pest (elsewhere). Comments: ELSEWHERE: pest on Wetland Taro and Tobacco, also feeds on Sweet Potato and Indian Mulberry. Very common in Fiji.

GENERAL NOTE: Hover over flowers to suck nectar; often attracted to lights.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: Dugdale List99, but no actual record, but ther is an old specimen in the MoA collection at Totokoitu (GMcC 3/2004)

References:
Special Reference: PM79

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04a, 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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