Hyles gallii

Hyles gallii, the bedstraw hawk-moth or galium sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by S. A. von Rottemburg in 1775.

bedstraw hawk-moth
Feeding
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Hyles
Species:	H. gallii
Binomial name
Hyles gallii (Rottemburg, 1775)
Synonyms
List Sphinx gallii von Rottemburg, 1775 Sphinx galli Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 Deilephila canadensis Guenée, 1868 Deilephila chamaenerii Harris, 1839 Deilephila galii Kirby, 1892 Deilephila intermedia Kirby, 1837 Deilephila oxybaphi Clemens, 1859 Sphinx epilobii Harris, 1833 Celerio galii Kuznetsova, 1906 Celerio gallii chishimana Matsumura, 1929 Celerio gallii flavescens Closs, 1920 Celerio gallii grisea Tutt, 1904 Celerio gallii grisescens Bandermann, 1932 Celerio gallii heliophila Eichler, 1971 Celerio gallii incompleta Tutt, 1904 Celerio gallii lata Tutt, 1904 Celerio gallii nepalensis Daniel, 1961 Celerio gallii pallida Tutt, 1904 Celerio gallii postrufescens Lempke, 1959 Celerio gallii sachaliensis Matsumura, 1929 Celerio gallii scholzi Stephan, 1924 Celerio gallii stricta Tutt, 1904 Celerio gallii testacea (Wladasch, 1933) Celerio gallii tibetanica Eichler, 1971 Deilephila gallii cuspidata Fritsch, 1916 Deilephila gallii dentata Gschwandner, 1912 Deilephila gallii lutea Gschwandner, 1912 Deilephila gallii maculifera Klemensiewicz, 1912

Late stage caterpillar

Similar species

• Hyles dahlii (Geyer, 1827)
• Hyles euphorbiae (Linnaeus, 1758) - spurge hawk-moth
• Hyles livornica (Esper, 1779) - lined sphinx
• Hyles nicaea (de Prunner, 1798)
• Hyles tithymali (Boisduval, 1832)

DNA testing resulted into the following relationships among the Palaearctic widespread species of the genus Hyles:

	Hyles nicaea Hyles gallii Hyles livornica Hyles vespertilio Hyles euphorbiae - Complex s.l.

Distribution

Hyles gallii is present in North America, in Europe to the Arctic Circle, in Central Asia and in Japan.

Description

Hyles gallii have a wingspan reaching 55 to 80 mm. In appearance, this species is very similar to Hyles euphorbiae. However, in H. gallii the red of the hindwings is not so extensive and the olive-colored band on the forewings is not interrupted.

The following information was taken from the public-domain The Illustrated Natural History of British Moths (1869) by Edward Newman.

The Bedstraw Hawk-Moth - Fore wings olive brown, with a broad, irregular, whitish stripe along the middle; hind wings black at the base; then a broad pinkish-white band, quite white near the body, and bright pink about the middle; then a distinct black band, and then a grey margin; thorax and body olive-brown, a white line on each side of the thorax just at the base of the wings; this line runs on each side along the head just above the eye; sides of the body with black and whitish spots.

The caterpillar is smooth, bluish-green above, inclining to pink beneath, sometimes brown and sometimes black, but always having a pale, almost yellow, line down the middle of the back, and a row of ten conspicuous eye-like yellow spots, on each side; the head is green, brown, or black, according to the colour of the caterpillar, but the horn above the tail is invariably red. … The chrysalis is brown, and is found in the sand. The caterpillar feeds in August and September, and the Moth appears about Midsummer.

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  Female
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  Female
• 
  Male
• 
  Male

A video of a Hyles gallii. The video can also be watched in lower resolution.

Biology

These moths can be encountered at dusk feeding on flowers, but they are active by night up to the day light. The flight period extends from May to October usually in one generation, but in good years there can be a second generation.

Habitat of Hyles gallii. La Thuile, Italy at about 2700 meters above sea level

The larva can reach a length of 70 to 80 millimeters and are variable. One type is olive green with cream spots and a reddish-brown head, while another version is almost entirely black. The colour of the larva darkens before pupation. They feed on fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium, Epilobium montanum), on bedstraw (Galium verum and Galium mollugo) and various other plants (Clarkia, Fuchsia, Circaea, Plantago major, etc.), many of which are members of Onagraceae. They can be found from July to September.

Habitat

This species prefers sandy or calcareous places, sunny heath, plantations, warm forest edges and wherever else it could find the host plants. These moths can be found in the Alps up to 2700 meters above sea level.

Gallery

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  Caterpillar of Hyles gallii (young stage) on Epilobium angustifolium
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  Hyles gallii caterpillar, black variant
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  Hyles gallii caterpillar
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  Pupa of Hyles gallii

References

• A. R. Pittaway: The Hawkmoths of the Western Palaearctic. Harley Books 1993, ISBN 0-946589-21-6
• P.C. Rougeot, P. Viette, Guide des papillons nocturnes d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord, Delachaux et Niestlé, Lausanne 1978.

External links

• Bedstraw Hawk-moth, UKMoths
• Hyles gallii, Lepiforum e.V.
• Hyles gallii, Portal für Schmetterlinge und Raupen
• Description in Richard South's The Moths of the British Isles