Silver-striped Hawk Moth vs Cottony Cushion Scale
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Silver-striped Hawk Moth | Cottony Cushion Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Hippotion celerio | Icerya purchasi |
| Order | Lepidoptera | Hemiptera |
| Family | Sphingidae | Monophlebidae |
| Size | 60-80 mm wingspan | 5-8 mm including egg sac |
| Habitat | Orchards | Orchards |
| Diet | Nectar Feeders | Wood Feeders |
| Regions | East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda) | Originally Australia, now cosmopolitan |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Silver-striped Hawk Moth
A medium-sized hawk moth with olive-brown forewings and bright pink hindwings, featuring silver stripes along the body. It is a powerful migrant found throughout the tropics.
Did You Know?
Its caterpillars have prominent eyespots that make them look like small snakes to deter predators.
Cottony Cushion Scale
A scale insect with a distinctive white fluted egg sac that devastated California's citrus industry in the 1880s. Its control by vedalia beetles was the first major success of biological pest control.
Did You Know?
The introduction of vedalia ladybirds to control it in 1889 saved the California citrus industry from collapse.