Aellopos tantalus

Aellopos tantalus, known as the Tantalus sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in Florida, the Antilles, from Mexico to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Suriname, and in the Amazon basin.

Tantalus sphinx
Male dorsal
Male venral
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Aellopos
Species:
A. tantalus
Binomial name
Aellopos tantalus
Synonyms
  • Sphinx tantalus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Sphinx ixion Linnaeus, 1758
  • Macroglossa sisyphus Burmeister, 1855
  • Sphinx terpunctata Goeze, 1780
  • Sphinx tantalus zonata Drury, 1773

The wingspan is 45–57 millimetres (1.8–2.2 in). The body is reddish brown with a wide white band across the abdomen. The forewing upperside is reddish brown with a black cell spot and three white spots near the gray marginal area. A pale streak runs from the cell spot to the inner margin of the wing. The hindwing upperside is dark brown.

Adults are on wing year-round. The adults feed on nectar of various flowers, including Eugenia axillaris, Draceana fragrans and Ernodea littoralis.

The larvae feed on Rubiaceae species, including Casasia clusiifolia and Randia aculeata. Pupation takes place in loose cocoons in shallow underground chambers or in leaf litter.[2]

Subspecies
  • Aellopos tantalus tantalus
  • Aellopos tantalus zonata (Drury, 1773) (St. Kitts and Mexico)

References
  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  2. "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2011-10-19.


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