Hyles gallii

Bedstraw Hawk-moth
Hyles gallii
Hyles gallii adult drinking
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Hyles
Species:	H. gallii
Binomial name
Hyles gallii (Rottemburg, 1775)
Synonyms
See text

The Bedstraw Hawk-Moth or Galium Sphinx (Hyles gallii) is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

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)

Description

Hyles gallii have a wingspan reaching 5.5 to 8 centimeters. In appearance, this species is very similar to Hyles euphorbiae. However, in H. gallii the red of the hind wings is not so extensive and the olive-colored band on the forewings is not interrupted. These moths can be encountered at dusk feeding on flowers, but they are activey 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. The caterpillars can reach a length of 70 to 80 millimeters and are variably stained. A variant is olive green with yellow spots. Another version is black with yellow spots and red head. The colour of the caterpillars darkens before pupation. They feed on fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium, Epilobium montanum), on bedstraw (Galium verum and Galium mollugo) and various other plants (Chamaenerion angustifolium, Clarkia, Fuchsia, Circaea, Plantago major, etc.). They can be found from July to September.

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."

Habitat

Habitat of Hyles gallii. La Thuile, Italy at abt. 2700 m a.s.l.

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 a.s.l..

Distribution

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

Synonyms

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

Gallery

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  ♀ - MHNT
• 
  ♀ - MHNT
• 
  ♂ - MHNT
• 
  ♂ - MHNT

• 
  Caterpillar of Hyles gallii (young stage) on Epilobium angustifolium
• 
  Hyles gallii caterpillar, black color variant
• 
  Hyles gallii caterpillar
• 
  Pupa of Hyles gallii
• A video of a Hyles gallii. Watch it in lower resolution, íf the video hacks.
• Hyles gallii on a German stamp
  Hyles gallii on a German stamp

References

• Fauna Europaea
• Hyels at Funet.fi
• 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

• Hyles gallii, European Butterflies and Moths
• Hyles gallii, Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
• Hyles gallii, Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic
• Hyles gallii, lepiforum.de
• Hyles gallii, www.schmetterling-raupe.de
• Description in Richard South The Moths of the British Isles