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Hyles wilsoni

species of insect

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ3091655 ↗
Source-derived summary

Hyles wilsoni, or Wilson's sphinx, is a species of moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Walter Rothschild in 1894. It is endemic to the island of Hawaii.

In wet districts the moth is freely on the wing at all hours of the day, visiting the flowers of Metrosideros, as well as those of cultivated plants. In drier localities it flies more freely at dusk.

Larvae have been recorded on Acacia koa, Bobea, Euphorbia, Metrosideros, Pelea and Straussia.

References

External links

Zimmerman, Elwood C. (1958). Insects of Hawaii. Vol. 7 Macrolepidoptera.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hyles wilsoni” is species of insect. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hyles, wilsoni and species, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1894, 1958—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Hyles, wilsoni and species is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “species of insect” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3091655. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1894 and 1958.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hyles wilsoni”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hyles wilsoni primary sources, Hyles wilsoni archive and Hyles research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hyles wilsoni”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Hyles wilsoni” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.