Xylophanes pistacina
Encyclopedia
Xylophanes pistacina is a moth
of the Sphingidae
family. It is found from Nicaragua
south to Brazil
and west to Bolivia
, Paraguay
and Argentina
.
The wingspan
is 75-87 mm. The upperside of the abdomen has no lines. The ground colour is generally greenish-buff, although some individuals are much greener. The subbasal and antemedian lines are vestigial, the two distal lines forming a band at the apex of the discal cell. The two proximal postmedian lines are more or less merged to form a band, the inner of which is often straight. The third postmedian line is very faint and the fourth is more distinct and emphasized by vein dots. Postmedian lines two to four are dentate and postmedian line five is curved from the wing apex and continuous with a greenish olive patch. The brown border is broad. The pale band is highly suffused with olive-brown.
Adults are probably on wing year round in Costa Rica.
The larvae possibly feed on Psychotria
species.
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 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...
south to 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 west to 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 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...
.
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 75-87 mm. The upperside of the abdomen has no lines. The ground colour is generally greenish-buff, although some individuals are much greener. The subbasal and antemedian lines are vestigial, the two distal lines forming a band at the apex of the discal cell. The two proximal postmedian lines are more or less merged to form a band, the inner of which is often straight. The third postmedian line is very faint and the fourth is more distinct and emphasized by vein dots. Postmedian lines two to four are dentate and postmedian line five is curved from the wing apex and continuous with a greenish olive patch. The brown border is broad. The pale band is highly suffused with olive-brown.
Adults are probably on wing year round in Costa Rica.
The larvae possibly feed on Psychotria
Psychotria
Psychotria is a plant genus of 1900 species in the family Rubiaceae. Members of the genus are low trees in tropical forests. The distinction between Psychotria and the genus Cephaelis are not well known and many species were formerly placed there....
species.