Eumorpha vitis

Vine sphinx
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Eumorpha
Species:	E. vitis
Binomial name
	Eumorpha vitis; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Sphinx vitis Linnaeus, 1758; Philampelus linnei Grote & Robinson, 1865; Philampelus hornbeckiana Harris, 1839; Eumorpha vitis pallida Closs, 1917; Pholus vitis hesperidum Kirby, 1880; Pholus vitis fuscatus Rothschild & Jordan, 1906;

Eumorpha vitis, known as the vine sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

Distribution

It lives from Argentina north through Central America, the West Indies, and Mexico to southern Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida. Strays north to Nebraska.^[2]

Description

The wingspan is 85–105 mm. It is similar to Eumorpha fasciatus fasciatus but distinguishable by the lack of a pink marginal band on the hindwing upperside and the single straight line on the forewing upperside.

Male dorsal
Male ventral
Female dorsal
Female ventral

Biology

Adults are on wing from April to May and again from July to October in Florida, from July to September in one generation in the northern part of the range and year-round in the tropics. They feed on the nectar of various flowers, including

Vinca rosea

.

The larvae feed on

Cissus rhombifolia, Cissus sicycoides and Cissus verticillata), Ludwigia decurrens, Ludwigia erecta, Magnolia virginiana and Parthenocissus

species. There are green, yellow and purple colour morphs. Pupation takes place in burrows.

Subspecies

Eumorpha vitis vitis (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Caribbean, southern United States)
Eumorpha vitis fuscatus - (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) (St. Lucia, Guadeloupe and Martinique)
Eumorpha vitis hesperidum - (Kirby, 1880) (Jamaica)

Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
Male dorsal
Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
Male ventral
Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
Female dorsal
Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
Female ventral

References

^ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
^ "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2011-10-26.

External links

Vine Sphinx Butterflies and Moths of North America

This Philampelini-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2011-10-26.

[2] "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2011-10-26.

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