Sagenosoma elsa
| Sagenosoma elsa | ||||||||||||
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Sagenosoma elsa , male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Sagenosoma | ||||||||||||
| Jordan , 1946 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Sagenosoma elsa | ||||||||||||
| (Strecker, [1878]) |
Sagenosoma elsa is the only butterfly species of the genus Sagenosoma from the family of swarmers (Sphingidae). Based on the morphology of the genitals, it can be assumed that the species is most closely related to the genera Sphinx and Isoparce .
features
Characteristics of the moth
The moths have a fore wing length of 23 to 38 millimeters. Due to the snow-white basic color, the species cannot be confused with any other. It has a black pattern, which in turn is heavily patterned with strong golden spots. The species is not variable in its coloring and pattern, a sexual dichroism is not developed.
Characteristics of the caterpillars
In the last stage, the caterpillars are marked with fine white dots. They have six conspicuous, black dorsolateral stripes, which are delimited at the bottom by a wide white band. These begin at the beginning of each segment approximately at the level of the spiracles and extend to the end of the segment in the subdorsal area. Above the stripe, the entire back is bright lime green. The head capsule is greenish-purple, with a pair of broad, white vertical stripes on the face. The thoracic legs are pink, the belly legs are pink and white. The spiracles are strong orange, the rather short anal horn is strongly curved backwards. The coloring of the animals is practically invariable, only the anal horn can be partly bluish in some individuals.
Characteristics of the dolls
The pupae are stocky and walnut-colored and have a matt, slightly rough surface. The trunk sheath is fused. The cremaster is very small and barely extends beyond the end of the abdomen. He has a double point.
Occurrence
The species is only found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico . It occurs in the United States in much of Arizona and western New Mexico, as well as southern Utah and Colorado . Desert areas in the lowlands are settled in the south of Arizona and rocky slopes of medium altitude further north.
Way of life
The proboscis of the species is shortened, but not so wide that it cannot be assumed that the species could not suckle on flowers. So far, however, there is no evidence of this. The adults are strongly attracted by artificial light sources. The animals fly from mid-April to mid-August, although it is unclear whether this will happen in one or two generations. This is because the altitude of the habitats in connection with the influence of rain on the populations does not allow any useful conclusions to be drawn. Pupation takes place in a flat chamber in the ground.
development
The females lay their eggs one by one on the leaves of the food plants. So far only Lycium pallidum has been identified as a host plant. The caterpillars spend the entire time of their development as solitary animals on the underside of the leaves of these plants. Only fully grown caterpillars tend to climb onto the thorn-proven branches during pauses in feeding.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g 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 .
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 .
