The Papua Insects Foundation
The Hawkmoths (SPHINGIDAE, Macroglossinae) of Papua Indonesia
by Willem Hogenes
Hippotion boerhaviae (Fabricius, 1775)
There is confusion about the identity of this species for New Guinea. It is very much alike the western species rosetta (Swinhoe, 1892) and according to Ian Kitching and Jan Beck (Website Sphingidae of Southeast Asia) rosetta does not occur on New Guinea. But judged from external characters only there are specimens that resemble rosetta very much. Study of genitalia and caterpillar captures, however, show no evidence so far for an occurance of rosetta on New Guinea.
Hippotion boerhaviae resembling the rosetta phenotype, from Sentani
STATUS: A common species, in New Guinea as well as in Indo-Australia.
PAPUA LOCALITIES: Biak; New Guinea: Abmisibil, Akimuga, Arfak Mountains, Bilai, Bilogai, Bupul, Enarotali, Genyem, Ifar, Ilaga, Jayapura, Jiwika, Kota Nica, Langda, Mabilabol, Manokwari, Merauke, Moanemani, Modio, Paniai, Pass Valley, Pim, Savier, Senopi, Sentani, Sorong, Ubrub, Walmak, Wasior. Details in gazetteer.
EXTERNAL DISTRIBUTION: Indo-Australia, including Papua New Guinea.
DATA SOURCES: KSP, RMNH, ZMAN. Website Sphingidae of Southeast Asia. Literature (see below)
Gorbunov, O.G. & A.N. Zamesov, 2014b. To the knowledge of Macroheterocera of Southeast Asia and New Guinea. II. Hawk moths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) of Papua Province, Indonesia. Biodiversity, Biogeography and Nature Conservation in Wallacea and New Guinea 2: 167-185.