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Australian Wildlife

  Coffee Hawk Moth (Cephonodes hylas)





Coffee Hawk Moth | Cephonodes hylas photo
Coffee Hawk Moth

Image by OpenCage blog & photograph - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Coffee Hawk Moth | Cephonodes hylas photo
Coffee Hawk Moth

Image by http://opencage.info/pics/large_4462.asp - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







COFFEE HAWK MOTH FACTS

Identification
The Coffee Hawk Moth has transparent wings and a stout body like a bumble bee. The head and thorax are greenish, and the abdomen is yellow with a black band, and a square black mark on the segment behind the black band.. The forewings have a small dark area at the tips. The caterpillar has a spiny raised shield behind the head and a spine on the tail. When the moth emerges from the pupa it has wing scales, but these are shed. It is similar to Cephonodes kingii which has larger dark area at the tip of the forewings.

Other Names
Bee Hawk Moth

Size
wingspan about 40mm to 50mm

Food
Adult moths hover above flowers to feed on nectar. The Coffee Hawk Moth caterpillar feeds on Ervatamia angustisepala, Canthium odoratum, Pavetta australiensis, Gardenia jasminoides. Overseas it is a pest on coffee plants.

Range
The Coffee Hawk Moth is found in Asia. In Australia it has been found in Queensland.



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Sphingidae
Genus:Cephonodes
Species:hylas
Common Name:Coffee Hawk Moth

Relatives in same Genus
  Bee Hawk Moth (C. kingii)