''Manduca lefeburii'' 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 ...

Distribution

It is found from

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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 ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

.Silkmoths
/ref>

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 89–110 mm. Manduca lefeburii MHNT CUT 2010 0 109 French Guyana female dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal Manduca lefeburii MHNT CUT 2010 0 109 French Guyana female ventral.jpg, Female ventral

Biology

There are at least two generations per year in Costa Rica with adults on wing from May to June and again from August to December. In Bolivia, adults have been recorded from October to December. The larvae feed on '' Casearia arguta'', '' Casearia sylvestris'' and '' Casearia corymbosa''.

Subspecies

*''Manduca lefeburii lefeburii'' (Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil) *''Manduca lefeburii bossardi'' (Gehlen, 1926) (Mexico) Manduca lefeburii bossardi MHNT CUT 2010 0 110 Nuevo Xcán Quintana Roo Mexico dorsal.jpg, ''Manduca lefeburii bossardi'' Dorsal Manduca lefeburii bossardi MHNT CUT 2010 0 110 Nuevo Xcán Quintana Roo Mexico ventral.jpg, ''Manduca lefeburii bossardi'' Ventral

References

Manduca Moths described in 1844 Sphingidae of South America Moths of Central America Lepidoptera of Mexico Taxa named by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville {{Manduca-stub