Erinnyis oenotrus

Oenotrus sphinx
Erinnyis oenotrus - MHNT
Erinnyis oenotrus △ - MHNT
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Erinnyis
Species: E. oenotrus
Binomial name
Erinnyis oenotrus
(Cramer, 1780)[1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx oenotrus Cramer, 1780
  • Sphinx penaeus Fabricius, 1787
  • Erinnyis melancholica Grote, 1865
  • Dilophonota hippothoon Burmeister, 1878
  • Anceryx piperis Boisduval, 1875

Erinnyis oenotrus (Oenotrus sphinx) is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in tropical and subtropical lowlands in Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina, north through Central America, Mexico and the West Indies. Occasional strays have been recorded from Florida and southern Texas.[2]

The wingspan is 73–86 mm. The underside of the abdomen has two black spots. The forewing of the males is dark brown, while it is gray with mottled brown markings in females. The black border of the hindwing blends into the orange background colour.

Adults are on wing year round in the tropics. They feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Saponaria officinalis.

The larvae probably feed on Forsteronia spicata and other Apocynaceae species.

References

  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  2. "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2011-10-19.


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