📸 PhotoPhoto: Thomas Bresson · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Macroglossum stellatarum (Hummingbird hawk-moth · ホウジャク)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A maximum wingspan of 7.4 cm is slightly shorter than the long side of a credit card (8.56 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 In Korea, larvae are recorded feeding on wild herbs such as Rubia akane, Galium dahuricum, and lady's bedstraw (National List of Species of Korea).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The hummingbird hawk-moth is a moth in the family Sphingidae distributed across southern, central, and northern Korea. Adults appear from March to October.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its wingspan is 40–74 mm. The body and forewings are grayish brown with black antemedial and postmedial lines, while the hindwings are orange with dark brown bases and margins. The antennae are club-shaped.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
There are records of larvae feeding on Rubia akane, Galium dahuricum, and lady's bedstraw (Galium verum var. asiaticum) in Korea, and on chickweed (Stellaria media) and soybean (Glycine max) in China.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is distributed across southern, central, and northern Korea, and larvae in Korea are recorded feeding on Rubia akane, Galium dahuricum, and lady's bedstraw (National List of Species of Korea).
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3X598
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000036355 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000036355
- • wikidata.org — Q369034
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Macroglossum stellatarum (3).jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — John Curtis (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.