Species Composition, Local Status and Endemism of Sphingidae Moth in the two vegetation types of Mt. Musuan, Long-term Ecological Research Site, Bukidnon, Philippines

Abstract

One of the biggest groups of moths in the Sphingidae family is the hawk moth, often known as the sphinx moth, a nocturnal pollinators and bio indicators. They stand out from other moths by having large wings, thick bodies, and longest tongues. There are 1,450 species of Sphinx moth all over the world and 117 of them existed in the Phillippines and Mindanao Island has 62 of them. Mt. Musuan, is one of the remarkable landmark of Central Mindanao University has been subjected to numerous studies of flora and fauna for several years. There were significant studies conducted on Hawkmoths but there were no published report about the species in this locality. This research was carried out on the two vegetation types of Mount Musuan, Maramag, Bukidnon in order to collect data on the composition, endemism, and local status of Hawkmoths. Sphinx moths were successfully collected using transects walks and light trap sampling in the two proposed vegetation sites using a white thin cloth and 500-watt light bulbs. A total of 9 genera and 14 species were recorded. The following are Acosmeryx socrates, Ambulyx bakeri, Ambulyx johnsoni, Ambulyx staudingeri, and Ambulyx wilemani. These were all endemic to the Philippines. There was 1 uncommon species and 13 common species recorded in their local status. The 14 species of sphinx moths comprised 35.7% endemism and these can be found on Mt. Musuan's two vegetation types.