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 ...
.
Distribution
It is known from
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
,
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
,
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
,
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
and
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
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 112–116 mm. It is similar to '' Eumorpha labruscae labruscae'' in the largely green upperside of the body and forewings, but can be distinguished by the lacking blue patches on the hindwing upperside, instead showing essentially the same pattern of orange and dark brown as in '' Eumorpha capronnieri''. There is a pair of broad, brown subdorsal stripes on the upperside of the thorax and abdomen. The undersides of the wings and body are almost entirely yellow.
Eumorpha phorbas MHNT CUT 2010 0 400 Guatopo Venezuela male dorsal.jpg, ''Eumorpha phorbas'' ♂
Eumorpha phorbas MHNT CUT 2010 0 400 Guatopo Venezuela male ventral.jpg, ''Eumorpha phorbas'' ♂ △
Eumorpha phorbas MHNT CUT 2010 0 400 Guatopo Venezuela female dorsal.jpg, ''Eumorpha phorbas'' ♀
Eumorpha phorbas MHNT CUT 2010 0 400 Guatopo Venezuela female ventral.jpg, ''Eumorpha phorbas'' ♀ △
Biology
Adults are on wing year round. They nectar at various flowers.
The larvae probably feed on
Vitaceae
The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as Vitis, grapevines (''Vitis'' spp.) and Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''). Th ...
,
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae (, from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Notable mem ...