This moth was found lying on the road in Bengaluru, India. Although it was damaged very badly from the under side, the wing pattern was still intact. Is it still possible to identify it? It is 9cms from head to wing tip
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1$\begingroup$ Hi, the identification process is easier if you can tell us a bit more about it. It's better if you can provide an image without a flash (no bright light either). Where was this bug found (country, state, etc.)? How big is it? $\endgroup$– Aravind Suresh ThakidayilCommented Sep 11, 2017 at 15:45
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$\begingroup$ Oh yes I'm sorry I forgot to mention, it was found in Bangalore $\endgroup$– AdDateCommented Sep 11, 2017 at 16:19
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1$\begingroup$ I have inserted a new picture taken under normal lighting conditions. Thank you for pointing out the error @Aravind Suresh $\endgroup$– AdDateCommented Sep 13, 2017 at 14:15
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1 Answer
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This is a hawkmoth, Sphingidae. One of the largest and arguably most beautiful of all moths. I am not familiar enough to India to pinpoint the species, it might be a member of the genus Agrius or Manduca.
Here's a picture of a resembling, species from the Manduca genus.
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$\begingroup$ I myself had thought of a hawk moth, however, I didn't think the wing pattern was consistent with the OP. Can you explain to me some of the resemblances? Thanks. $\endgroup$– user22020Commented Sep 14, 2017 at 15:15
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$\begingroup$ @Charles the forewing is much longer than the body and covers the (hence much smaller) hindwings. The forewing is also strongly curved towards the tip. I can't think of any other genus with this shape&size, but am open to learn something! The wing pattern is quite worn, at the tip of the left wing you can see through. That makes thw wing pattern less reliable in this case. $\endgroup$– RHACommented Sep 14, 2017 at 15:27
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$\begingroup$ This isn't a hawk moth; the forewing venation is not correct for that family (it is possible to see that two anal veins reach the wing margin in the OP photo; compare with figure 5 on page 5 here; the veins aren't labelled there, but the anal vein is the last vein of the wing). $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 9:56
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$\begingroup$ @Arthur I see the difference. However, I can't find in the text that this anal vein is a distinctive feature of all Hawk moths (though it very well might be). Do you have any better suggestions? AFAIK most Notodontidae and Noctuidae also have an anal vein reaching the outer margin. $\endgroup$– RHACommented Sep 15, 2017 at 11:36
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$\begingroup$ @RHA while some elements of wing venation vary within Lepidoptera families, the number of anal veins reaching the wing margin in the fore wing isn't one of them (see here for another discussion of hawk moth wing venation -- sorry that there aren't pictures with this one; that same discussion lists other moth families which have the hind wings much smaller than the fore wings). $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 19:07