Theretra capensis ( Linnaeus, 1764 )

Mbata, Keith J. & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, Annotated checklist of moths of Zambia (Insecta: Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 5354 (1), pp. 1-503 : 188-189

Theretra capensis ( Linnaeus, 1764)

COMMON NAME (S): Cape Hawkmoth, Cape Hawk or Grape Vine Hawkmoth

SYNONYM(S): Sohinx aeas Cramer, 1779 ; Sphinx cecrops Cramer, 1779 ; Sphinx immaculata Gmelin, 1790 ; Gnathostypsis ostracina Wallengren, 1860 .

IUCN STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE).

DISTRIBUTION: Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

LOCALITY IN ZAMBIA: Lusaka , in Lusaka Province; Livingstone, in Southern Province.

LARVAL HOSTPLANT(S): Larval host-plants include: One Fabaceae species ( Vigna sp. ) and two Vitaceae species ( Vitis vinifera L. and Rhoicissus tridentata (L.f.) Wild & R.B.Drumm.) in South Africa ( Fawcett 1901; van den Berg et al. 1975; Prinsloo & Uys 2015) and three Vitaceae species ( Ampelopsis sp. , Cissus sp. and Rhoicissus sp. ) in an unnamed African country or countries ( Pinhey 1975).

The African Moths (2019) webpage lists the following six Vitaceae species ( Ampelopsis sp. , Cissus sp. , Rhoicissus digitata (L. f.) Gilg & M. Brandt, R. tridentata (L.f.) Wild & R.B.Drumm, R. tomentosa (Lam.) Wild & R.B. Drumm. and Vitis vinifera L. ) and one Fabaceae species ( Vigna sp. ) as larval foodplants of the taxon.

SOURCES: African Moths 2019; De Prins & De Prins 2022; Fawcett 1901; Pinhey 1975; Prinsloo & Uys 2015; van den Berg et al. 1975.