Isognathus
| Isognathus | ||||||||||
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Isognathus caricae |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Isognathus | ||||||||||
| Fields & Fields , 1862 |
Isognathus is a genus within the butterfly family of swarmers (Sphingidae).
features
The medium-sized moths have forewings that have a pattern of various gray and brown tones with occasional black. The base and the anal angle of the hind wings are orange to yellow in all species, the outer edge is dark brown to black. Above the anal angle at the edge of the dark outer edge is a dull blue to blue-gray spot that is divided by one or two black bands. The morphology of the genitals is similar to that of the genera Erinnyis and Pseudosphinx .
The previously known caterpillars are conspicuously colored in the last stage and have a long, thread-like anal horn .
Occurrence and way of life
The genus is neotropically distributed. Most species occur in South America , but a few species also occur north to northern Mexico and the Caribbean . Isognathus rimosa is known as a rare stray visitor from North America .
The caterpillars apparently prefer to feed on poison plants (Apocynaceae), but there are also records of mulberry plants (Moraceae). The pupation takes place in a loosely spun cocoon place on earth.
Systematics
11 species of the genus are known worldwide:
- Isognathus allamandae Clark, 1920
- Isognathus australis Clark, 1917
- Isognathus caricae (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Isognathus excelsior (Boisduval, [1875])
- Isognathus leachii (Swainson, 1823)
- Isognathus menechus (Boisduval, 1875)
- Isognathus mossi Clark, 1919
- Isognathus occidentalis Clark, 1929
- Isognathus rimosa (Grote, 1865)
- Isognathus scyron (Cramer, 1780)
- Isognathus swainsonii Fields & Fields, 1862
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supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d James P. Tuttle: The Hawkmoths of North America, A Natural History Study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, DC 2007, ISBN 978-0-9796633-0-7 .
- ^ Ian J. Kitching, Jean-Marie Cadiou: Hawkmoths of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Revisionary Checklist (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Cornell University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8014-3734-2
literature
- James P. Tuttle: The Hawkmoths of North America, A Natural History Study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada, The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, DC 2007, ISBN 978-0-9796633-0-7 .
