Macroglossum passalus Drury

Sphinx passalus Drury, 1773, Illustr. exot. Ins. , 2: 52.

Rhamphoschisma rectifascia Felder, 1874, Reise Ost. Fregatte Novara , Lep., t. 75.

Macroglossum passalus Drury; Rothschild & Jordan, 1903: 664.

Diagnosis

This and the next species have a dark brown to black basal half to the forewing with a straight (or slightly concave in faro) distal boundary; beyond this the wing is pale grey, grading darker towards the apex, though with a paler lunule on the costa subapically.

In faro the dorsum of thorax and abdomen is greener.

The basal half of the hindwing below is much more suffused with yellow scales in passalus. M. faro is much larger.

Geographical range

Japan, Oriental tropics to Sundaland.

Habitat preference

The few specimens have been taken in montane localities: at 1618m on Bukit Retak, Brunei; at 900m in lower montane forest on the limestone G. Api, Sarawak.

Biology

The larva was described by Bell & Scott (1937). The head is dull green.

The body is pale yellow with faint blue transverse lines and a dark blue dorsal stripe over the abdominal segments, edged with pale blue.

There is a similar lateral stripe running between two large black spots on T2 and two black spots on A10. There is a broad, blue-spotted, black dorsolateral stripe.

The horn is pale blue, ringed black basally.

The Hong Kong larva is illustrated above . Recorded host-plants (Bell & Scott; Miyata, 1983; Bascombe, in litt.) are: Daphniphyllum (Daphniphyllaceae); Photinia (Rosaceae).