Hyles livornicoides
| Hyles livornicoides | |
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| Species: | H. livornicoides
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| Hyles livornicoides | |
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Hyles livornicoides is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The larvae are known by the common name Yeperenye caterpillar.
Distribution
It is found in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
Description
The wingspan is about 60 mm.
Biology
The larvae feed on Portulaca oleracea, Boerhavia diffusa, Boerhavia schomburgkiana, Vitis vinifera and Tribulus terrestris. They are gregarious and live in dense colonies.
The larvae were used as food by Aborigines. They starved the caterpillars for a day or two before roasting them. The cooked larvae were said to have a pleasant savoury taste and could be stored for a long time.
References
- ^ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience – Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 25 October 2011.[permanent dead link]
External links
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