Marumba sperchius Menetries

Smerinthus sperchius Menetries, 1857, Enum. Corp. Anim. Mus. Petropol., Lep. 2: 137.

Marumba sperchius Menetries; Rothschild & Jordan, 1903: 280.

Marumba sperchius sumatranus Clark, 1923, Proc. New Engl. zool. Club., 8: 71.

Diagnosis

This species is similar to the next but the forewing fasciae and the tone of the hindwing are more reddish; the fasciae on either side of the weak discal mark converge towards the dorsum more markedly than in sperchius. On the underside juvencus and tigrina both have the forewing apex dark brown; sperchius lacks this but has the tornus suffused with rufous.

The hindwing fasciae below on sperchius are reddish and much less sinuous than in juvencus and tigrina.

Geographical range

N. India to Korea and Japan; Sumatra, Borneo.

Habitat preference

The species has been taken singly at 1790m in upper montane forest on G. Mulu, and twice in lowland forest at 250m on the limestone G. Api in Sarawak.

Biology

Bell & Scott (1937) described and illustrated the larva of the Indian race. Early instars are pale yellow. Later ones are bluish green with the tubercles brown or reddish, tipped with white. Oblique stripes are formed of mauve or yellow tubercles on a white ground. The horn is green with paler tubercles.

Recorded host-plants (Bell & Scott, 1937; Miyata, 1983) are: Castanea, Castanopsis, Quercus (Fagaceae); Juglans (Juglandaceae); Eriobotrya (Rosaceae).