Erinnyis ello, commonly known as the Ello Sphinx, is a member 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 resides from 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...

, through 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...

, and as far north as Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in North 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 75-85 mm. The abdomen has gray and black bands. The forewing upperside of the females is pale gray with a few dark dots near the outer margin, while the forewing upperside of the males is dark gray and brown with a black band running from the base to the tip. In both sexes, the hindwing upperside is orange with a wide black border.

Adults are on wing year round in the tropics and southern Florida. Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Saponaria officinalis and Asystasia gangetica

Asystasia gangetica

Asystasia gangetica is a species of plant in the Acanthaceae family. It is commonly known as the Chinese Violet, Coromandel or Creeping Foxglove. In South Africa this plant may simply be called Asystasia.-Description:...

.

The larva

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

 feed on a variety of host plants including, Papaya

Papaya

The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...

 (Carica papaya) in the Caricaceae

Caricaceae

Caricaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, native to tropical regions of Central and South America and Africa. They are short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small trees growing to 5-10 m tall...

 family, Poinsettia

Poinsettia

Euphorbia pulcherrima, commonly known as Zack Wood or noche buena, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Mexico and Central America. The name "poinsettia" is after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the US in 1825...

 (Euphorbia pulcherrima) in the Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....

 family, Guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

 (Psidium spp.) in the Myrtaceae

Myrtaceae

The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...

 family, Saffron Plum (Sideroxylon celastrinum

Sideroxylon celastrinum

Sideroxylon celastrinum is a species of flowering plant in the sapodilla family, Sapotaceae, that is native to Texas and Florida in the United States south through Central America to northern Venezuela and Colombia in South America. Common names include Saffron Plum and La Coma. It is a spiny shrub...

) in the Sapotaceae

Sapotaceae

Sapotaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to order Ericales. The family includes approximately 800 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in approximately 65 genera . Distribution is pantropical....

 family and Mandioca (Manihot esculenta) in the Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....

family.

Subspecies

• Erinnyis ello ello (tropical and subtropical lowlands and foothills from Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to southern Florida, Texas, Arizona, southern California and southern Nevada)
• Erinnyis ello encantada Kernbach, 1962 (Galapagos Islands)

External links

• Ello Sphinx Moths of America