Xylophanes undata 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 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...

 to 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....

 and further south into 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...

.

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 72-83 mm. It is similar in colour and pattern to Xylophanes zurcheri

Xylophanes zurcheri

Xylophanes zurcheri is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Belize.It is similar in colour and pattern to Xylophanes undata, but the forewing outer margin is less strongly crenulated, most distal postmedian lines on the forewing upperside are...

, but the forewing outer margin is more strongly crenulated, the crenulations are all of similar size except for one which is slightly longer. Furthermore, the most distal postmedian line on the forewing upperside is more conspicuous and straight and delineating a narrow, rectangular, pale purple-grey patch.

Adults have been recorded year round (except March) in Costa Rica. In Peru, there are three generations per year with adults on wing from January to February, in June and in October.

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 ,...

species.