Australian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides)

Alice Springs Fauna •

Alice Springs MothsAustralian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides) Bag-shelter Moth & Processionary Caterpillar Chasmina pulchra (White Beauty) Cossid Moth (Endoxyla leucomochla) Godart’s Hawkmoth (Agrius godarti) Helicoverpa punctigera (Australian Fruitworm) Laced Day-Moth (Ipanica cornigera) Leptocneria binotata Mocis alterna (Bean Looper Moth) Owlet Moth (Eudesmeola lawsoni) Owlet Moth (Ophiusa parcemacula) Sameodes cancellalis (Banded Pearl) Yeperenye / Yipirinya

One of the many species and the most well known moths found in Alice Springs is the Australian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides), which is the adult form of the Yeperenye, the larvae stage of the Yeperenye caterpillar.

Yeperenye (and the alternative spelling of Yipirinya), in the local Arrernte aboriginal language is also spelt as Ayepe-arenye — being pronounced Yep-ah-rin-ya, is a sacred totemic ancestral being for the Arrernte people of Alice Springs, Central Australia.

Yeperenye Caterpillar (Hyles livornicoides) — Yeperenye Caterpillar (*Hyles livornicoides*), Alice Springs NT

Not to be confused with Hyles livornica (which is found overseas, Hyles livornicoides (Striped Hawk Moth) is the Australian species.

Difference between Hyles livornica and Hyles livornicoides…
By looking at them, not much difference if any, but after DNA sequencing etc., it is clear that they are separate species. Earlier it was believed that the Australian one was Hyles livornica as well, but since it has been proven that the two are in fact separate species, the Australian one was named Hyles livornicoides.
Source: Bjørn M Fjellstad²

Australian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides) — Australian Striped Hawk Moth (*Hyles livornicoides*)

More information in our Fauna > Insects > Moths > Australian Striped Hawk Moth.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Informal: Pterygotes
Order: Lepidoptera
Unranked: Ditrysia
Superfamily: Sphingoidea
Family: Sphingidae
Subfamily: Macroglossinae
Genus: Hyles
Species: Hyles livornicoides

Footnote & References

Australian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/341800-Hyles-livornicoides
Many thanks to Bjørn M Fjellstad for clarification on the differences between the two species of Hyles livornica and Hyles livornicoides, member of Butterflies, Moths and other Invertebrates of Australia, https://www.facebook.com/groups/170745013686340

Alice Springs Butterflies & Moths (Lepidopterans)Alice Springs Butterflies Alice Springs Moths

Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders

Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander

Alice SpringsAlice Springs Accommodation Alice Springs Pet Friendly Accommodation Alice Springs Art & Culture Alice Springs Attractions Alice Springs Directory Alice Springs Distance Alice Springs Festival & Events Alice Springs Flora and Fauna Alice Springs Fauna Alice Springs Flora Getting Around Alice Springs Alice Springs Aboriginal Tours Alice Springs Tours Alice Springs Tours – Other