Manduca lefeburii 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 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...

, 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...

 and 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....

 to 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...

, 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...

, 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...

 and 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...

.

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 89-110 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 andicola

Manduca andicola

Manduca andicola is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found from Central America to Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina.It is similar to Manduca lefeburii, Manduca incisa and Manduca jasminearum in having a relatively uniform forewing upperside with a conspicuous, rather diffuse dark band...

, Manduca incisa

Manduca incisa

Manduca incisa is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from Brazil and Bolivia.It is similar in appearance to several other members of the Manduca genus, but a number of differences distinguish it from Manduca lefeburii, to which it most closely compares, particularly in the narrow black...

and Manduca jasminearum

Manduca jasminearum

The Ash Sphinx is a member of the Sphingidae family of moths. It ranges from east of the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean, being common in the Northeast United States....

, to which it most closely compares, particularly in its uniform forewing upperside with a conspicuous dark band.

There are at least two generations per year in Costa Rica with adults on wing from May to June and again from August to December. In Bolivia, adults have been recorded from October to December.

The larvae feed on Casearia arguta, Casearia sylvestris and Casearia corymbosa.

Subspecies

• Manduca lefeburii lefeburii (Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil)
• Manduca lefeburii bossardi (Gehlen, 1926) (Mexico)