''Cautethia grotei'', or Grote's sphinx, is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths commonly called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as hornworms. It includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, but species ar ...

. It was described by Henry Edwards in 1882.

Distribution

It resides in the US state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the islands of the Caribbean.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 28–40 mm.

Biology

There are multiple generations per year in Florida. Adults nectar at various flowers, including '' Asystasia gangetica'' and ''

Dracaena fragrans ''Dracaena fragrans'' (cornstalk dracaena), is a flowering plant species that is native to tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at altitude.JSTOR Plant Science ...

''.

Host plants

Larvae have been recorded feeding on various

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

species, including milkberry (''

Chiococca alba ''Chiococca alba'' is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) native to Florida and the extreme southern tip of Texas in the United States, Bermuda, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Galápagos, and tropical Sou ...

''), black torch ('' Erithalis fruticosa'') and common snowberry (''

Symphoricarpos albus ''Symphoricarpos albus'' is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family known by the common name common snowberry. Native to North America, it is browsed by some animals and planted for ornamental and ecological purposes, but is pois ...

'').

Subspecies

*''Cautethia grotei grotei'' (Florida, Cuba, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and possibly Hispaniola and Jamaica. Strays have been found up to Tennessee, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and even New Hampshire) *''Cautethia grotei apira'' Jordan, 1940 (Cayman Islands) *''Cautethia grotei hilaris'' Jordan, 1940 (Cayman Islands)

References

External links

"Grote's sphinx ''Cautethia grotei'' Hy. Edwards, 1882"
''Butterflies and Moths of North America''. Retrieved January 12, 2018.

''Sphingidae of the Americas''. Cautethia Moths described in 1882 Taxa named by Henry Edwards {{Dilophonotini-stub