Mimas tiliae

Mimas tiliae, the lime hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East, and has also been identified in Canada's east and western provinces and in northern Spain (Europe). The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Mimas tiliae
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Mimas
Species:	M. tiliae
Binomial name
Mimas tiliae (Linnaeus, 1758)^[1]
Synonyms
Sphinx tiliae Linnaeus, 1758 Smerinthus ulmi Heydenreich, 1851 Dilina tiliae brunnescens Staudinger, 1901 Dilina tiliae exstincta Staudinger, 1901 Dilina tiliae roseotincta Schawerda, 1922 Merinthus tiliae tilioides (Holle, 1865) Mimas tiliae angustefasciata (Vilarrubia, 1973) Mimas tiliae atroviridis Closs, 1911 Mimas tiliae bicolor (Vilarrubia, 1973) Mimas tiliae bimaculata Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae bimarginalis Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae brunnea-centripuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae brunnea-costipuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae brunnea-marginepuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae brunnea-obsoleta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae brunnea-transversa Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae clara Closs, 1917 Mimas tiliae colon Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae constricta Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae diluta Cockayne, 1953 Mimas tiliae discifera Closs, 1917 Mimas tiliae excessiva Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae fasciata Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae griseothoracea Cabeau, 1931 Mimas tiliae inversa Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae latefasciata (Vilarrubia, 1973) Mimas tiliae lutescens Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae marginalis Mecke, 1926 Mimas tiliae margine-puncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae montana Daniel & Wolfsberger, 1955 Mimas tiliae pallida-centripuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae pallida-costipuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae pallida-maculata Lempke, 1959 Mimas tiliae pallida-marginepuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae pallida-obsoleta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae pallida-transversa Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae pallida Jordan, 1911 Mimas tiliae postobscura (Lempke, 1959) Mimas tiliae pseudo-trimaculata Gillmer, 1916 Mimas tiliae pseudobipunctata (Lempke, 1959) Mimas tiliae reducta (Vilarrubia, 1973) Mimas tiliae rubra Cockayne, 1953 Mimas tiliae rufescens (Vilarrubia, 1973) Mimas tiliae rufobrunnea Lenz, 1925 Mimas tiliae semicentripuncta Gillmer, 1905 Mimas tiliae semiobsoleta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae suffusa (Clark, 1891) Mimas tiliae transversa Jordan, 1911 Mimas tiliae typica-bipunctata (Lempke, 1959) Mimas tiliae virescens-bipunctata Lempke, 1937 Mimas tiliae virescens-centripuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae virescens-maculata Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae virescens-marginepuncta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae virescens-obsoleta Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae virescens-transversa Tutt, 1902 Mimas tiliae virescens Jordan, 1911 Mimas tiliae viridis (Closs, 1911) Mimas tiliae vitrina Gehlen, 1931 Smerinthus tiliae bipunctata (Clark, 1891) Smerinthus tiliae brunnea Bartel, 1900 Smerinthus tiliae brunnea Caradja, 1893 Smerinthus tiliae centripuncta (Clark, 1891) Smerinthus tiliae costipuncta (Clark, 1891) Smerinthus tiliae immaculata Bartel, 1900 Smerinthus tiliae maculata (Wallengren, 1863) Smerinthus tiliae obsoleta (Clark, 1891) Smerinthus tiliae pechmanni Hartmann, 1879 Smerinthus tiliae ulmi Bartel, 1900

This species is quite variable, though not confusable with any other sphingid of the Palearctic in its markings, the ground colour of the forewings being pinkish or buff, darker towards the tornus, marked with one or two dark green or brown blotches which are sometimes merged to form a continuous band across the middle of the forewing. The hindwings are plainer, grey or buffish brown. The wingspan is 70–80 millimetres (2.8–3.1 in). It exhibits sexual dimorphism, the male usually being smaller but more strongly marked than the female. Usually, the forewing ground colour is brownish in females and decidedly green in males, but there are many exceptions. The female abdomen is straight and fat with fully formed eggs, which are already present when the female emerges (as in all species of Smerinthini). The male abdomen, on the other hand, is strongly curved and slender.

Forms include

• f. brunnea Bartel ground colour brown
• f. pallida Tutt ground colour grey
• f. lutescens Tutt yellow
• f. virescens Tutt ground colour green
• f. transversa Tutt dark median band of the forewing entire
• f. tiliae dark median band narrowly separated
• f. obsoleta Clark dark median band completely absent

This moth flies at night in May and June,^{[Note 1]} and is attracted to light. The adults do not feed.

• Caterpillar
• Pupa

• Mimas tiliae ♂ - MHNT
• Mimas tiliae ♂ underside - MHNT
• Mimas tiliae ♀ - MHNT
• Mimas tiliae ♀ underside - MHNT

The larva is green with yellow and red markings along the side and a blue horn at the hind end, typical of the family. It feeds mainly on lime but has also been recorded feeding on other trees and shrubs (see list below). The colour changes to purple-grey when ready to pupate, at which point the larvae wander in search of a pupation site.^[2] The species overwinters as a pupa in the soil at the base of its host tree.

Recorded food plants

• Alnus - alder
• Betula - birch
• Morus - mulberry
• Prunus
• Quercus - oak
• Tilia - lime
• Ulmus - elm

Notes

1. The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References

1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
2. Ian Kimber (2010). "Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae (Linnaeus, 1758)". UKMoths. Retrieved September 28, 2010.

• Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
• Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984
• Pittaway, A. R. (2018). "Mimas Hübner, [1819]". Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic. Retrieved December 12, 2018.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mimas tiliae.

• Lime Hawk-moth UKMoths
• Description in Richard South The Moths of the British Isles
• Lepiforum e.V.
• Discover the Lime Hawk Moth