Xanthopan morgani
| Xanthopan morgani | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Natural History Museum of London | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Sphingidae |
| Subfamily: | Sphinginae |
| Genus: |
Xanthopan Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 |
| Species: | X. morgani |
| Binomial name | |
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Xanthopan morgani (Walker, 1856) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Macrosila morgani |
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Macrosila morgani
Xanthopan morganii
Xanthopan morgani praedicta Rothschild & Jordan, 1903
Xanthopan morgani, or Morgan's sphinx moth (commonly misspelled as "morganii"), is a very large sphinx moth from East Africa (Rhodesia, Nyasaland) and Madagascar. It is the sole member of its genus, and little is known of the biology, though the adults have been found to visit orchids (see below).
In January 1862 while researching insect pollination of orchids, Charles Darwin received a package of orchids from the distinguished horticulturist James Bateman, and in a follow up letter with a second package Bateman's son Robert confirmed the names of the specimens, including Angraecum sesquipedale from Madagascar. Darwin was surprised at the defining characteristic of this species: the "astonishing length" of the whip-like green spur forming the nectary of each flower, and remarked to Joseph Hooker "I have just received such a Box full from Mr Bateman with the astounding Angræcum sesquipedalia with a nectary a foot long— Good Heavens what insect can suck it"[?] The spur of the flower is 20–35 cm (7.9–13.8 in) from its tip to the tip of the flower's lip. The name "sesquipedale" is Latin for "one and a half feet," referring to the spur length.
From his observations and experiments with pushing a probe into the spur of the flower, Darwin surmised in his 1862 book Fertilisation of Orchids that there must be a pollinator moth with a proboscis long enough to reach the nectar at the end of the spur. In its attempt to get the nectar at the end of the spur the moth would get pollen rubbed off on its head. The next orchid it visited would then be pollinated in the same manner.
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Wikipedia