Eumorpha vitis

Eumorpha vitis, known as the vine sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

Vine sphinx
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Eumorpha
Species:
E. vitis
Binomial name
Eumorpha vitis
(Linnaeus, 1758)[1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx vitis Linnaeus, 1758
  • Philampelus linnei Grote & Robinson, 1865
  • Philampelus hornbeckiana Harris, 1839
  • Eumorpha vitis pallida Closs, 1917
  • Pholus vitis hesperidum Kirby, 1880
  • Pholus vitis fuscatus Rothschild & Jordan, 1906

Distribution

It lives from Argentina north through Central America, the West Indies, and Mexico to southern Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida. Strays north to Nebraska.[2]

Description

The wingspan is 85–105 mm. It is similar to Eumorpha fasciatus fasciatus but distinguishable by the lack of a pink marginal band on the hindwing upperside and the single straight line on the forewing upperside.

  • Male dorsal
  • Male ventral
  • Female dorsal
  • Female ventral

Biology

Adults are on wing from April to May and again from July to October in Florida, from July to September in one generation in the northern part of the range and year-round in the tropics. They feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Vinca rosea.

The larvae feed on Vitis species (including Vitis vinifera), Cissus species (including Cissus incisa, Cissus pseudosicyoides, Cissus rhombifolia, Cissus sicycoides and Cissus verticillata), Ludwigia decurrens, Ludwigia erecta, Magnolia virginiana and Parthenocissus species. There are green, yellow and purple colour morphs. Pupation takes place in burrows.

Subspecies
  • Eumorpha vitis vitis (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Caribbean, southern United States)
  • Eumorpha vitis fuscatus - (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) (St. Lucia, Guadeloupe and Martinique)
  • Eumorpha vitis hesperidum - (Kirby, 1880) (Jamaica)
  • Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
    Male dorsal
  • Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
    Male ventral
  • Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
    Female dorsal
  • Eumorpha vitis fuscatus
    Female ventral

References
  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  2. "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2011-10-26.


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