Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Sphingidae Scientific name Hyles tithymali | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Hyles Rank Species | |
Similar Hyles dahlii, Hyles, Hyles vespertilio, Hyles livornica, Hyles euphorbiae | ||
Hyles tithymali
Hyles tithymali is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in North Africa, the Canary Islands, Madeira, some islands in the Mediterranean Sea and in the mountains in Yemen. The length of the forewings is 45–85 mm. The larvae feed on Euphorbia.
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It is thought that Hyles tithymali had a much larger range in Europe, but has been pushed further south after the cooling ca. 3600 years ago. Its place has been taken over by Hyles euphorbiae, which is more resistant to the cold. Because of this, many isolated populations exist today, many of which have developed to distinct subspecies.
Hyles tithymali
Subspecies
The following subspecies are recognised:
- The taxon sammuti [=H. t. sammuti (Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998)] according to molecular studies is a hybrid from H. euphorbiae x H. tithymali.
- Hyles tithymali cretica is regarded, according to authors, as a full species or as a hybrid from H. euphorbiae x H. tithymali.
- The taxonomic final status of the taxon gallaeci Gil-T., Requejo & Estévez, 2011 (larvae very similar to other taxa of the tithymali group) is awaiting a study molecular (not only of its mitochondrial DNA, but also of its nuclear DNA).