Xylophanes ockendeni 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 known from Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

.

The length of the forewings is 35-36 mm. It is similar to Xylophanes rothschildi

Xylophanes rothschildi

Xylophanes rothschildi is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru south to Bolivia.The wingspan is 63-72 mm. The upperside of the forewings is dark green with a bluish glow. The base of the wings is also green, but has a deeper colour...

, but distinguishable by the slightly scalloped outer margin of the forewing, the more well-defined dark basal patch on the forewing upperside, the transversely oriented dark patch distal to the discal spot and the sinuate, brown postmedian band, distal of which, on the inner margin, is a black, triangular patch. The abdomen has a thin, brown dorsal line, either side of which is a row of small black spots, one on the posterior edge of each tergite. The underside of the abdomen has a lavender-red coloration. The forewing upperside is similar to Xylophanes macasensis

Xylophanes macasensis

Xylophanes macasensis is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found from Ecuador south into Bolivia.The wingspan is about 80 mm for both males and females. It is similar to Xylophanes ockendeni, but larger and with many pattern differences. Furthermore, the small black spots on the dorsum of the...

but the ground colour is a deeper, darker, more bluish-green, on which the darker markings are less prominent, making the whole moth look more drab. The postmedian line is brownish, sinuate, less conspicuous and more poorly defined, distally blending in with the ground colour. The area around the discal spot is paler, rendering the spot more conspicuous. The submarginal line is represented by a series of small, dark vein spots.

The larvae probably feed on Rubiaceae

Rubiaceae

The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...

 and Malvaceae

Malvaceae

Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...

species.

Subspecies

• Xylophanes ockendeni ockendeni (Peru)
• Xylophanes ockendeni sensu Eitschberger, 2001