Sphinx leucophaeata
| Sphinx leucophaeata | ||||||||||||
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Sphinx leucophaeata , male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Sphinx leucophaeata | ||||||||||||
| Clemens , 1859 |
Sphinx leucophaeata is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of the swarmers (Sphingidae). The species is distributed in North and Central America from Mexico to Panama.
features
The moths have a fore wing length of 62 to 75 millimeters. Due to its size and its whitish-gray forewings, which are provided with a few black lines, the species is unmistakable. The species shows little variability.
The relatively large caterpillars have a strong green base color and have seven very wide, sloping, dark brown stripes on the sides, which lead to an equally colored longitudinal band on the back. The first three pairs of strips are shorter and only reach about half of the segments, the remaining strips reach the belly legs . The stripes are edged in white on both sides along their entire length. The dorsal margin is very thin, the ventral margin is slightly wider. The pusher and partly the penultimate segment adjacent to it are also dark brown. There are fine white secondary bristles at the base of each brown side stripe. The spiracles are orange. The head is the same color as the body, but there are dark brown bandages on both sides of the face and the segment seams on the face are also colored this way. The collar on the back of the head is bright yellow. On the one hand, the anal horn is curved backwards, but it describes a curve that is directed forward again. It is almost entirely black and white hairy. The caterpillars are unmistakable.
The doll, which is also very large, is maroon and has a smooth surface. The trunk sheath is very long and describes a large arc far away from the body. It ends in a thickened point. Behind the seventh abdomen segment, the segments are greatly reduced. Due to the resulting increase, the doll appears pushed together there. This characteristic is unique within the genus Sphinx . The very wide Kremaster is rough and ends in a distinct double point.
Occurrence
Sphinx leucophaeata is widespread in North and Central America from Mexico to Panama and appears in the United States only as an occasional stray visitor. The species is only known from the undocumented type locality in Texas and from Hidalgo County (Texas) . The type locality is in all probability in the Rio Grande Valley in the extreme south of Texas.
Way of life
The way of life of the species is largely unknown. The caterpillars were detected on Forestiera neomexicana . They pupate in a chamber deep in the ground.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e 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 .
