''Xylophanes ceratomioides'' 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 ...

. It is known 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 ...

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 ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

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 ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

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 ...

, down into southern

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 ...

. Rare vagrants have been found up to southern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

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 86–96 mm. The outer margin of the forewing is slightly scalloped. There are long, narrow, whitish scales on the upperside of the abdomen. The base of the forewing upperside is dark, often almost black but with an off-white patch on the inner edge. The costa has several conspicuous subapical and apical black spots, the largest subapical spot is triangular with the inner point directed basally. The subbasal band of the hindwing upperside is off-white, divided medially into two patches by a longitudinal black band. Xylophanes ceratomioides MHNT CUT 2010 0 58 Guapimirim Brazil male dorsal.jpg, Male dorsal MHNT Xylophanes ceratomioides MHNT CUT 2010 0 58 Guapimirim Brazil male ventral.jpg, Male ventral MHNT Xylophanes ceratomioides MHNT CUT 2010 0 304 Guapimirim Brazil femal dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal MHNT Xylophanes ceratomioides MHNT CUT 2010 0 304 Guapimirim Brazil femal ventral.jpg, Female ventral MHNT

Biology

Adults are on wing year-round in Costa Rica. In Peru, there are at least three generations per year with adults on wing from January to February, June to July and October. The larvae feed on '' Psychotria berteriana'', '' Psychotria correae'', '' Psychotria microdon'' and ''

Hamelia patens ''Hamelia patens'' is a large evergreen Perennial plant, perennial shrub or small tree in the family Rubiaceae, that is native to the American subtropics and tropics. Its range extends from Florida in the southern United States to as far south as ...

''.

References

External links

''Xylophanes ceratomioides''
Sphingidae of the Americas ceratomioides Moths described in 1867 Sphingidae of South America Moths of Central America Taxa named by Coleman Townsend Robinson Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote {{Xylophanes-stub