Rhagastis castanea (Moore, 1872) - Chestnut Hunter Hawkmoth

Subspecies in India

Transferred to Rhagastis castanea from Theretra castanea by Melichar et al. 2018. Kitching (2020) remarks on this transfer stating "further study need to clarify its taxonomic position". For now, retained in Rhagastis.  

Taxonomic Information

List of Rhagastis Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 known from India.
Rhagastis acuta (Walker, 1856), Karnataka (Melichar, 2012); Uttarakhand (Sondhi and Sondhi,2016).
Rhagastis albomarginatus (Rothschild, 1894), North Eastern India, Nepal (Pittaway and Kitching, 2020).
Rhagastis castor (Walker, 1856), Assam (Arandhara et al., 2017); Kerala (Sondhi et al., 2017), Tamil Nadu.
Rhagastis confusa Rothschild & Jordan, 1903, Himalayan region (Sanyal et al., 2018, Meghalaya, Nepal (Shreshta, 2009).
Rhagastis gloriosa (Butler, 1875), Nepal, West Bengal (Pittaway and Kitching, 2020).
Rhagastis lunata (Rothschild, 1900), Assam, Himalaya (Sanyal et al., 2018).
Rhagastis olivacea (Moore, 1872), Himachal Pradesh, Nepal.
Rhagastis velata (Walker, 1866), Assam, Meghalaya, Nepal, Sikkim (Bortolin et al., 1998).

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

This species is similar to Theretra pallicosta.

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala1
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra11
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total111
  1. Bell, T.R.D & F. B. Scott. 1937. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Moths, Vol. 5. Sphingidae 537p - 1 folding map - 15 pl. 459-461,#169
  2. Gurule, S & S. M. Nikam. 2013. The moths (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) of northern Maharashtra: a preliminary checklist. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5(12): 4693–4713; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2555.4693-713. # 70
  3. Kitching, I.J. 2020. Sphingidae Taxonomic Inventory, http://sphingidae.myspecies.info/, accessed on 29 March 2020)
  4. Melichar, T., J. Haxaire, M. Rezác & H. B. Manjunatha. 2018. A field guide to Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) of the state of Karnataka, India. Published by Ekoloicke centrum Orlov, o.p.s, Orlov 79, 26101 Pribram, Czech Republic. Pg. 100. 

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Rhagastis castanea (Moore, 1872) – Chestnut Hunter Hawkmoth. In Sondhi, S., Y. Sondhi, R.P. Singh, P. Roy and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 3.73. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://moths.ncbs.res.in/rhagastis-castanea, accessed 2024/04/24.