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Cephonodes
Hubner
Type
species: hylas Linnaeus.
Synonym: Potidaea Wallengren (type species hylas Linnaeus).
This
genus contains several day-flying species that appear to mimic large
Hymenoptera. The antennae are strongly clubbed. The wings are mainly
clear, with a black border and dark veins prominent, though in freshly
emerged moths the transparent areas are covered by greenish scales that
are lost during the first flight. The thorax and abdomen are mainly bright
green, with black and yellow rings or patches. The abdomen bears a fan of
scales apically. The mid- and hindcoxae have tooth-like projections
posteriorly.
The male genitalia are strikingly asymmetrical, both in the valves and the
tenth segment. The gnathus can be entire or deeply divided; the uncus is
entire or slightly divided.
The larvae are green to dark brown with a paler dorsolateral line. The
horn is very long in early instars. Host-plants are mostly in the family
Rubiaceae.
Most species are found in the Indo-Australian tropics. The type species is
found in the Afrotropical Region also, and there are further species in
the Malagasy Region (D'Abrera, 1986: 116). Many are strongly migratory and
have been taken at sea or on small oceanic islands.
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