''Isognathus excelsior'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Sphingidae.

Distribution

It is known from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

to north-western

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Description

It can be distinguished from all other ''

Isognathus ''Isognathus'' is a genus of moths in the family Sphingidae. Species *'' Isognathus allamandae'' Clark, 1920 *'' Isognathus australis'' Clark, 1917 *'' Isognathus caricae'' ( Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Isognathus excelsior'' (Boisduval, 1875) *'' Isog ...

'' species by the pure white underside to the abdomen with conspicuous paired black spots on each segment. Isognathus excelsior MHNT CUT 2010 0 498 PK36 Patawg, Guyane, male dorsal.jpg, ''Isognathus excelsior'' ♂ Isognathus excelsior MHNT CUT 2010 0 498 PK36 Patawg, Guyane, male ventral.jpg, ''Isognathus excelsior'' ♂ △ Isognathus excelsior MHNT CUT 2010 0 498 Piste coralie PK2 Guyane, female dorsal.jpg, ''Isognathus excelsior'' ♀ Isognathus excelsior MHNT CUT 2010 0 498 Piste coralie PK2 Guyane, female ventral.jpg , ''Isognathus excelsior'' ♀ △

Biology

There are probably multiple generations per year. The larvae probably feed on

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 Members of the ...

species.

References

Isognathus Moths described in 1875 Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval Sphingidae of South America {{Dilophonotini-stub