First record of the Afghan Poplar Hawkmoth Laothoe witti Eitschberger et al., 1998 (Sphingidae: Smerinthinae) from India: a notable range extension for the genus

Laothoe witti Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998, the Afghan Poplar Hawkmoth, was first described from Afghanistan, after which there have only been isolated reports of the species within the Palaearctic region. Only five species have so far been reported under the genus Laothoe with no evidence of the occurrence of the genus Laothoe in India till date. Here we provide information about the record of L. witti from Kashmir that establish first evidence of the occurrence of this species in India, extending the range of the genus Laothoe into the Indian sub-continent.