''Erinnyis obscura'', the obscure 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 ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Christian Fabricius Johann Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...

in 1775.

Distribution

It lives from the northern part of South America up to the central United States.

Description

Erinnyis obscura obscura MHNT CUT 2010 0 48 Limbo Chapare Cochabamba Bolivia female dorsal.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura obscura'' ♀ Erinnyis obscura obscura MHNT CUT 2010 0 48 Limbo Chapare Cochabamba Bolivia female ventral.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura obscura'' ♀ △

Biology

Adults are on wing year round in the tropics, southern Florida and southern Texas. A single specimen has been added to the Cornell University Insect Collection after being collected by John Dombrowski in Ithaca New York, Tompkins County. The species was identified by curator Jason Dombroeski. This suggests that E. obscura's range is much more northern than expected
[see Cornell Insect Collection Data Base
/nowiki>">ee Cornell Insect Collection Data Base">[see Cornell Insect Collection Data Base
/nowiki> The caterpillars feed on various members of the family Apocynaceae, including ''Rauvolfia ligustrina'', ''Rauvolfia tetraphylla'', ''Stemmadenia obovata'', ''Philibertia'', ''Cynanchum'' and ''

Carica papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

'' as well as

Asclepiadaceae The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, it was treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family. They form a group of perennial herbs, twinin ...

and

spurge ''Euphorbia'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees, with perhaps the tallest being '' Euphorbia ampliphyl ...

species, including '' Blepharodon mucronatum'', ''

Funastrum clausum ''Funastrum clausum'', commonly known as white twinevine, is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It is native to southern Florida and Texas in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) i ...

'' and ''

Morrenia odorata ''Araujia odorata'', formerly known as ''Morrenia odorata'', the latexplant or strangler vine, is a plant in the family Apocynaceae, which is native to South America (Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay). This plant is cited in Flora B ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Erinnyis obscura obscura'' (tropical and subtropical lowlands from Uruguay west to Bolivia and Argentina and north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to Florida, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. Strays recorded up to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota and Pennsylvania) *''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (Galapagos Islands) *''Erinnyis obscura socorroensis'' Clark, 1926 (Revillagigedo Islands) Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador male dorsal.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♂ Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador male ventral.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♂△ Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador female dorsal.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♀ Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador female ventral.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♀ △

References

External links

* obscura Sphingidae of South America Moths of North America Lepidoptera of Mexico Moths described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Dilophonotini-stub