Striped Hawk-moth – Record by Mansur Al Fahad

I received an e-mail a few days ago with a great photo of a Striped Hawk-moth Hyles livornica from Mansur Al Fahad who photographed the moths in Zulfi last summer. He recorded them four times around his house and in his moth traps and method they were common in the area. The Striped Hawk-moth is the most common Hawk-moth in Arabia, it is an insect of the open desert where it breeds on a number of different plants. It flies at night and migrates to other countries reaching as far north as Scandinavia.  A successful breeding season often occurs after heavy rain with vast numbers of moths occurring. The thorax of the Striped Hawk-moth has four distinct white stripes running lengthways, and the antennae have white tips. There is a white dorsal stripe running along the abdomen and each of the underwings has a bright red patch. Mansur kindly allowed me to use his photo on my website which is shown below.

Stripped Hawk Moth caterpillar at Dhahran – Records by Colin Knight

Colin Knight came across my website while hunting for the id of a Hawk Moth caterpillar he photographed in Dhahran Hills in 2009 where he worked for Saudi Aramco for over 25 years, leaving in 2008. Colin returned briefly to Dhahran in March 2009 and photographed two different looking Hawk Moth caterpillars near the percolation pond that he has just identified as the Striped Hawk Moth Hyles livornica which have considerable variation in the pattern of caterpillar. Colin very kindly gave me permission to use his photographs on my website which are reproduced below. The Striped Hawk-moth is the most common Hawk Moth in Arabia, it is an insect of the open desert where it breeds on a number of different plants. It flies at night and migrates to other countries reaching as far north as Scandinavia.  A successful breeding season often occurs after heavy rain with vast numbers of moths occurring. The thorax of the Striped Hawk-moth has four distinct white stripes running lengthways, and the antennae have white tips. There is a white dorsal stripe running along the abdomen and each of the underwings has a bright red patch.

Striped Hawk-moth Dhahran Hills – Record by Elizabeth Ayouby

I received an e-mail a few days ago with some great photos of a Striped Hawk-moth from Elizabeth Ayouby who lives in Dhahran Hills. Her family found the moth in their garden over the last weekend, a moth I have yet to see in Saudi Arabia. The Striped Hawk-moth is the most common Hawk-moth in Arabia, it is an insect of the open desert where it breeds on a number of different plants. It flies at night and migrates to other countries reaching as far north as Scandinavia.  A successful breeding season often occurs after heavy rain with vast numbers of moths occurring. The thorax of the Striped Hawk-moth has four distinct white stripes running lengthways, and the antennae have white tips. There is a white dorsal stripe running along the abdomen and each of the underwings has a bright red patch. Elizabeth kindly allowed me to use her photos on my website which are shown below, with the top photo having a business card shown for scale.