Basiothia aureata

Basiothia aureata
Basiothia aureata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Basiothia
Species: B. aureata
Binomial name
Basiothia aureata
(Karsch, 1891)[1]
Synonyms
  • Ocyton aureata Karsch, 1891
  • Temnora aureata
  • Lophuron brevipenne Rothschild, 1894
  • Temnora brevipenne

The Gold Dotted Temnora (Basiothia aureata) is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found in wooded habitats from Liberia to Kenya in the east and to Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the south.[2]

The length of the forewings is 20–23 mm. The head and body are reddish-brown and the abdomen is decorated with tiny golden dots. The forewings are reddish-brown mottled with pinkish-brown, particularly at the base, the apex and above the tomus. There are numerous oblique darker transverse lines. The hindwings are paler, with a dark brown margin. The females are sometimes darker.

The larvae feed on Impatiens species. They have a green head and body with a darker green dorsal line and traces of a darker subdorsal line with a few black specks in it. Pupations takes place in surface litter. The pupa has a pale bone colour with a greenish dorsal stripe on the abdomen and a series of subdorsal black dots.

References