About Cephonodes hylas Linnaeus, 1771
This species has transparent wings and a stout, bumblebee-like body. Its wingspan measures between 45 and 73 mm, with very narrow, black marginal wing borders. Abdominal color ranges from yellow to green; the nominate subspecies has bright reddish color on its 3rd and 4th abdominal segments. Larvae occur in two distinct color forms: green and dark. In the green form, the body is greenish with a blue dorsal line bordered by white, and a whitish sub-dorsal line that ends in a yellow streak at the base of the horn. The head and spiracles of green-form larvae are blue. In the dark form, the head is brown or pale orange, and the rest of the body is smoky black. Pupae are dark brown. Larvae are sluggish in movement, but feed very greedily and continuously. Larvae feed on plant species from the genera Burchellia, Gardenia, Kraussia, Pavetta and Vangueria. Two parasitoid species, Ooencyrtus papilionis and Blepharipa zebrine, are known to infest the larvae of this species.
