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Australian Wildlife

  Hawk Moth (Nephele subvaria)





Hawk Moth | Nephele subvaria photo
Nephele subvaria at the Texas A&M University Insect Collection in College Station, Texas.

Image by Shawn Hanrahan - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







HAWK MOTH FACTS

Identification
Nephele subvaria is a brown hawk moth from northern Australia The forewings are brown and males may have small white spot in centre of forewing near the leading edge. The hindwings are reddish. When at rest the wings are held in a triangular shape. The body is brown with darker incomplete brown bands, with paler brown underside. The caterpillars are grey with horn on the tail, and grow to about 6 cm long. Some caterpillars have a narrow white stripe on the body.

Size
wingspan about 6 cm

Habitat
tropical rainforest, subtropical rainforest

Food
Caterpillars feed on the Currant Bush (Carissa spinarum) or Native Currant.

Range
Nephele subvaria is found in Queensland, northern Territory and Western Australia..



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Sphingidae
Genus:Nephele
Species:subvaria
Common Name:Hawk Moth

Relatives in same Genus
  Hawk Moth (N. hespera)