Taxonomy
This adult individual of Eumorpha labruscae from the Natural History Museum collection shows how the blue-green coloration of the live moth fades to yellow-green after death. © Alessandro Giusti
Eumorpha labruscae has a wingspan of 10--12cm.
It has very distinctive markings:
- the upper side of the forewings shows a beautiful deep blue-green colouration, with a characteristic inverted triangular area near the base of each forewing, where the green colour can be even deeper
- an irregular brownish patch marks the centre of each forewing
- the upperside of the thorax and the abdomen are green
- the upperside of the hindwings is bordered with yellow and bear a large central patch coloured with a combination of black, blue and red
- the underside is mainly yellow with a grey triangular area near the base of the forewings, and with a couple of wavy brownish lines running through the centre of both fore and hind-wings
- an irregular brownish line runs near the apex on the underside of the forewings
The blue-green colour fades to yellow-green after death, and to brown if the moth is then exposed to high humidity.