Coffee Bee Hawk Moth vs Red-bordered Metalmark

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Coffee Bee Hawk Moth Red-bordered Metalmark
Scientific Name Cephonodes picus Caria ino
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Sphingidae Riodinidae
Size 35-50 mm 28-35 mm wingspan
Habitat Farmland Heathland
Diet Nectar Feeders Omnivores
Regions East Africa, Madagascar South Texas through Mexico and Central America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Coffee Bee Hawk Moth

A smaller clearwing hawk moth with transparent wings and a compact olive and yellow body. It is often found around coffee plantations in Africa where its larvae feed on Rubiaceae.

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Did You Know?

This species is sometimes considered a minor pest of coffee plantations in East Africa, where its caterpillars can defoliate young coffee plants.

Red-bordered Metalmark

A dark metalmark butterfly with bright red-orange borders along the wing edges and metallic blue-green scaling at the wing bases. It perches with wings spread flat.

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Did You Know?

Males are fiercely territorial, perching on sunlit leaf surfaces and darting out at any passing insect.