Xylophanes suana
Encyclopedia
Xylophanes suana 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 the Bahamas.

It is similar to Xylophanes tersa tersa
Xylophanes tersa
The Tersa Sphinx is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found from the United States , through Mexico, the West Indies and Central America and into parts of South America...

but the upperside of the body and forewing is more uniform ash-grey, the abdomen is lacking the golden-yellow lateral stripes and the forewings are less elongate. Furthermore, the abdominal tergites have weaker spines. The forewing pattern is generally very uniform. Only the discal spot, the basal section of the first postmedian line and the fourth postmedian line are standing out from the greyish-brown ground colour in most specimens. The pale yellow spots of the median band on the hindwing upperside are fewer and smaller than in Xylophanes tersa tersa and sometimes flushed with pink.

Adults are probably on wing year round.

The larvae possibly feed on Psychotria panamensis, Psychotria nervosa
Psychotria nervosa
Psychotria nervosa, also known as wild coffee, is a shade tolerant medium-sized shrub native to Florida as well as Central and South America. It produces "small, red, ellipsoid fruit" that resemble "the true coffee bean" in shape and attract birds...

and Pavonia guanacastensis.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK