Nephele accentifera
Encyclopedia
Nephele accentifera is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It is common in most habitats throughout the Ethiopian Region, excluding Madagascar
and the Cape Peninsula
.
The length of the forewings is 35-42 mm and the wingspan
is 79-88 mm. The abdomen is heavily marked with black. The forewings are broad, with an evenly curved margin, boldly but irregularly marked with dark brown, grey and ochreous. The submarginal areas are dark brown with diffuse ochreous internervular spots at the termen. There is a very dark wedge shaped area with the apex at the inner margin, near the base. There is also a large ochreous apical area at the costa and a similar but smaller spot between the costa and stigma. The stigma consists of three silvery white commas converging rather like the spokes of a wheel. The hindwings are dark olive brown with a blackish margin.
The larvae feed on the leaves of Ficus natalensis
.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Sphingidae
Sphingidae
Sphingidae is a family of moths , commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species . It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region . They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid,...
family. It is common in most habitats throughout the Ethiopian Region, excluding Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Cape Peninsula
Cape Peninsula
The Cape Peninsula is a generally rocky peninsula that juts out for 75 km into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope...
.
The length of the forewings is 35-42 mm and the wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 79-88 mm. The abdomen is heavily marked with black. The forewings are broad, with an evenly curved margin, boldly but irregularly marked with dark brown, grey and ochreous. The submarginal areas are dark brown with diffuse ochreous internervular spots at the termen. There is a very dark wedge shaped area with the apex at the inner margin, near the base. There is also a large ochreous apical area at the costa and a similar but smaller spot between the costa and stigma. The stigma consists of three silvery white commas converging rather like the spokes of a wheel. The hindwings are dark olive brown with a blackish margin.
The larvae feed on the leaves of Ficus natalensis
Ficus natalensis
Ficus natalensis is a tree in the Moraceae family. It is commonly known as the Natal Fig. These trees are distributed from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to east Africa.- References :...
.