Macroglossum pyrrhosticta
Sandy's thread about discovering A. titan reminded me of Macroglossum pyrrhosticta, and collecting and rearing it in Hawaii and the Philippines. Gives me something to share.
I first saw and reared this species in the Philippines while in the Navy over 40 years ago, but they were more enjoyable to do in Hawaii as I could share them with my family.
We had several places in Hawaii we'd visit just for this species, but probably the favorite was at the first place I was able to share them with my family at, Fort DeRussy on Waikiki where they flew in high numbers at dusk. When on business trips to Oahu we'd stayed in the Hilton Hawaiian Village right next door to DeRussy, so I was right on our way walking to dinner at our favorite place on Waikiki. There are many very large stands of Bougainvillea at DeRussy that this species visits every night at dusk. In the rapidly failing light they are like ghosts speeding from place to place and quite a challenge to put a net on.
On Oahu we mostly collected livestock at Makiki Valley on our way to do other species along the trails of the forest reserve there and on Mt. Tantalas. Another was at Waimanalo Bay. We found livestock on Paederia and Psychotria.
BTW, don't believe everything you read about this bug. Most references state it only flies from spring to summer, or to early fall in some places. In Hawaii it flies year round, and some of our best collecting for it was in December to March. And while it is diurnal and some individuals will be seen during the day in the right locations, it is the most abundant during those last magical minutes of late dusk, and for a couple of hours after full dark.
Larry
Here's some PD photo's of necturing, a larva, one of the stands of Bougainvillae at Fort DeRussy and their host plants.
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For reference this is Fort Derussy Waikiki's Beach Park with the Hilton Hawaiian Village behind it. We usually stayed in the A1i'i Tower (between the Rainbow and Diamond Head Towers in this picture).
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