''Manduca florestan'', the Florestan sphinx, 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 The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera) 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, bu ...

. The species was first described by

Caspar Stoll Caspar Stoll (Hesse-Kassel, probably between 1725 and 1730 – Amsterdam, December 1791) was a naturalist and entomologist, best known for the completion of ''De Uitlandsche Kapellen'', a work on butterflies begun by Pieter Cramer. He also publis ...

in 1782. Manduca florestan MHNT CUT 2010 0 69 Catemaco Veracruz Mexico male dorsal.jpg, Male, dorsal view Manduca florestan MHNT CUT 2010 0 69 Catemaco Veracruz Mexico male ventral.jpg, Male, ventral view Manduca florestan MHNT CUT 2010 0 353 Catemaco Veracruz Mexico female dorsal.jpg, Female, dorsal Manduca florestan MHNT CUT 2010 0 353 Catemaco Veracruz Mexico female ventral.jpg, Female ventral

Distribution

It is found from the mountains of southern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, and the lower

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

of southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

through

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern 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 wate ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and the rest of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

south into

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

at least to

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

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 ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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 ...

and

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

.Silkmoths
/ref> they have also been spotted in N.S.W Australia.

Description

The

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

is 99–110 mm. It is similar in appearance to several other members of the genus ''

Manduca ''Manduca'' is a genus of moths in the family Sphingidae, the hawkmoths. The genus is used as a model in the biological sciences. The tobacco hornworm (''Manduca sexta'') and the tomato hornworm (''M. quinquemaculata'') in particular have been w ...

'', but a number of differences distinguish it from ''

Manduca lichenea ''Manduca lichenea'' is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by Hermann Burmeister in 1855. Distribution It is known from south-eastern Brazil. Description The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane ...

'', to which it most closely compares. There is a great deal of individual variation. The forewings have a greenish tint and prominent black discal streaks.

Biology

There is one generation with adults on wing from late June to early August in the United States. In Bolivia, adults have been reported in March and again from October to December, while adults are on wing year round in Costa Rica. They feed on the nectar of various flowers, including ''

Plumeria rubra ''Plumeria rubra'' is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus ''Plumeria''."Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p. 691. Könemann, 2004. Originally native to Mexico, Central America, Col ...

'' in Costa Rica. The larvae feed on ''

Tecoma ''Tecoma'' is a genus of 14 species of shrubs or small trees in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae. Twelve species are from the Americas, while the other two species are African. The American species range from the extreme southern United St ...

'' and ''

Citharexylum ''Citharexylum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It contains shrub and tree species commonly known as fiddlewoods or zitherwoods. They are native to the Americas, ranging from southern Florida and Texas in the ...

'' species, '' Stachytarpheta frantzii'', '' Callicarpa acuminata'', '' Aegiphylla martinicensis'', '' Citharexylum costaricensis'', ''

Tabebuia ochracea ''Tabebuia ochracea'', known as ''corteza amarillia'' in Spanish, is a timber tree native to South America, Cerrado and Pantanal vegetation in Brazil. It is very similar, closely related to, and often confused with the Golden Trumpet Tree, ''Tab ...

'', '' Callichlamys latifolia'', '' Cydista heterophylla'', '' Cydista diversifolia'', ''

Crescentia alata ''Crescentia alata'', variously called Mexican calabash, jícaro, morro, morrito, or winged calabash, is a plant species in the family Bignoniaceae and in the genus ''Crescentia'', native to southern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Ric ...

'', ''

Macfadyena unguis-cati ''Dolichandra unguis-cati'', commonly known as cat's claw creeper, funnel creeper, or cat's claw trumpet, is a rapidly growing climbing vine belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. It affects all plant layers of the forest ecosystem spreading rapid ...

'', ''

Cordia panamensis ''Cordia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while ''bocote' ...

'', ''

Cordia alliodora ''Cordia alliodora'' is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It is commonly known as Spanish elm, Ecuador laurel, cypre or salmwood. It can reach 35 m in height. Uses ''Cordia a ...

'' and '' Chionentis panamensis''. In Brazil, larvae have been reported on ''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduc ...

'', ''

Pyrostegia venusta ''Pyrostegia venusta'', also commonly known as flamevine or orange trumpet vine, is a plant species of the genus '' Pyrostegia'' of the family Bignoniaceae originally native to southern Brazil, Bolivia, northeastern Argentina and Paraguay; toda ...

'' and '' Vitex megapotamica''.

References

External links

''Manduca florestan''
''Moths of North America'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q143884 Manduca Moths described in 1782 Sphingidae of South America Moths of Central America Lepidoptera of Mexico Taxa named by Caspar Stoll