The Florestan Sphinx is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Sphingidae

Sphingidae

Sphingidae is a family of moths , commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species . It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region . They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid,...

 family. It is found from the from the mountains of southern Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, and the lower Rio Grande Valley

Rio Grande Valley

The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...

 of southern Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 through Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

, Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

, Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

 and the rest of Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 south into South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 at least to Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 and Surinam.
The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 99-110 mm. It is similar in appearance to several other members of the Manduca

Manduca

Manduca is a moth genus of the Sphingidae family. The Carolina Sphinx is often used in biological research....

genus, but a number of differences distinguish it from Manduca lichenea

Manduca lichenea

Manduca lichenea is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from south-eastern Brazil.The wingspan is about 94 mm....

, to which it most closely compares. There is a great deal of individual variation. The forewings have a greenish tint and prominent black discal streaks.

There is one generation with adults on wing from late June to early August in the United States. In Bolivia, adults have been reported in March and again from October to December, while adults are on wing year round in Costa Rica. They feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus Plumeria. Its common names are Red Frangipani, Common Frangipani, Temple Tree, or simply Plumeria...

in Costa Rica.

The larvae feed on Tecoma and Citharexylum

Citharexylum

Citharexylum is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It contains 70 to 100 shrub and tree species commonly known as Fiddlewoods or Zitherwoods. They are native to the Americas, ranging from southern Florida and Texas in the United States to Argentina. The highest...

species, Stachytarpheta frantzii, Callicarpa acuminata

Callicarpa acuminata

Callicarpa acuminata is a species of beautyberry. Unlike the other species of this genus, C. acuminata produces small berry-like fruits which can be dark-purple or dark blue-purple. The fruit can sometimes be white. The flowers blooms are white. The fruit grow in tight clumps and sometimes resemble...

, Aegiphylla martinicensis, Citharexylum costaricensis, Tabebuia ochracea

Tabebuia ochracea

Tabebuia ochracea is a timber tree native to South America, Cerrado and Pantanal vegetation in Brazil. It is very similar and closely related to and often confused with the Golden Trumpet Tree, Tabebuia chrysotricha.There are three subspecies:...

, Callichlamys latifolia, Cydista heterophylla, Cydista diversifolia, Crescentia alata

Crescentia alata

Crescentia alata is a species in the trumpet-flower family Bignoniaceae, native to southern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica....

, Macfadyena unguis-cati, Cordia panamensis, Cordia alliodora and Chionentis panamensis. In Brazil, larvae have been reported on Lantana camara

Lantana camara

Lantana camara, also known as Spanish Flag or West Indian Lantana, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It has been introduced into other parts of the world as an ornamental plant and is considered an invasive species in many...

, Pyrostegia venusta and Vitex megapotamica.

External links

• Manduca florestan Moths of North America Guide