''Pseudosphinx'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

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 ...

genus in 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 ...

first described by

Hermann Burmeister Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine zoologist, entomologist, herpetologist, botany, botanist, and coleopterologist. He served as a professor at ...

in 1856. Its only species, ''Pseudosphinx tetrio'', was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1771. Its common names include tetrio sphinx, giant gray sphinx, frangipani hornworm,Dunford, J. C. and K. A. Barbara
Tetrio Sphinx, Giant Gray Sphinx, Frangipani Hornworm, ''Pseudosphinx tetrio'' (Linnaeus) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Sphingidae).
EENY-344. Entomology and Nematology. Florida Cooperative Extension Service. University of Florida IFAS. 2005. and plumeria caterpillar.Sloan, S. A., et al. (2007). ''Biotropica'' 39(2), 195–201. In the island of Martinique it is best known as Rasta caterpillar (''chenille rasta'', in French) because of its colors which are reminiscent of the ones found in

Rastafarian Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

clothing and accessories. It is native to the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

Americas from the southern and southwestern United States to

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 ...

. The occasional individual has been recorded as far north as the northeastern United States.

Description

The adult moth is brown with gray and white markings, and the hindwing is a darker brown. The female may be lighter in tone. The body has gray, white, and black bands. 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 12.7 to 14 centimeters, and the female is generally slightly larger than the male. Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Cartago Tapanti Costa Rica, male dorsal.jpg, Male dorsal Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Cartago Tapanti Costa Rica, male ventral.jpg, Male ventral Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Itatiaia National Park Brazil, female dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Itatiaia National Park Brazil, female ventral.jpg, Female ventral The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

is a

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

which may exceed 15 centimeters in length. It is black with

aposematic Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...

yellow bands and a red-orange head. Toward the posterior end is an orange bump with a black horn roughly 2 centimeters long. The legs are orange with black spots. The

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

is about 7 centimeters long. It is yellow when new, turning brown and darkening to a reddish brown as it hardens.

Biology

The moth specializes on plants of the dogbane family,

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 ...

. Host taxa include ''

Plumeria ''Plumeria'' (), also known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species are native to the Neotropical realm (in Mexico, ...

'' species such as red frangipani (''P. rubra'') and white frangipani (''P. alba''), and golden trumpet (''Allamanda cathartica''). ''P. alba'' in particular is so often infested with this caterpillar that it has been nicknamed "the wormy tree". The female lays eggs in clusters of about 50 to 100. The caterpillars feed on the plant, detoxifying the poisonous

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

present in most Apocynaceae. It pupates in the leaf litter or under the soil. The adult feeds on

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

. It has been recorded on

Madagascar periwinkle ''Catharanthus roseus'', commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native and en ...

(''Catharanthus roseus'') and

pequi ''Caryocar brasiliense'', known as () or souari nut, is an edible fruit popular in some areas of Brazil, especially in Central-West Region, Brazil, Centerwestern Brazil. Taxonomy The pequi tree grows up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. It is ...

(''Caryocar brasiliense''). It has been observed as a

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

of the fringed star orchid (''Epidendrum ciliare'') in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The caterpillar has several

antipredator adaptation Anti-predator adaptations are mechanisms developed through evolution that assist Predation, prey organisms in their constant struggle against predators. Throughout the animal kingdom, adaptations have evolved for every stage of this struggle, na ...

s. Its consumption of toxic plants makes it distasteful to most predators. An exception is the smooth-billed ani (''Crotophaga ani''), which tears the caterpillar apart to eat it, avoiding the gut containing the plant material. The caterpillar is also coated in barbed

urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

s, which stick deeply in skin and cause irritation. If caught, the caterpillar bites.Mitton, J
Caterpillar or coral snake?
''Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine''. University of Colorado, Boulder. 14 May 2010.

Impacts

The species has been known to damage and defoliate ''Plumeria''. Each caterpillar can consume three large leaves per day, and it will continue eating into the branches if it finishes the available foliage. Even in the case of defoliation, the species does not generally kill plants. The caterpillars are large and conspicuous and can be controlled by plucking them from the tree.

Gallery

Eggs of Pseudosphinx tetrio. Frangipani Hawk moth..jpg, Eggs Puppe von Pseudosphinx tetrio.jpg, Chrysalis Pseudosphinx tetrio, caterpillar, Caribbean coast Colombia, November 2015.tif, Caterpillar

References

External links

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Featured Creature article fo
''Pseudosphinx tetrio''
*Price, S
Caterpillars no reason to panic.
''NationNews.com''. 23 April 2011. {{Taxonbar , from1=Q2593501 , from2=Q135359 Dilophonotini Moths described in 1771 Orchid pollinators Sphingidae of South America Moths of South America Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister Monotypic moth genera Sphingidae genera