Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Orig. Comb:
Sphinx ello Linnaeus 1758
Size
2 15/16 - 3 5/16 inches (7.5 - 8.5 cm) Wingspan(2)
Identification
The sexes are dissimilar as the student may observe.
(1)
Horn reduced to a low point, arising from an elevated angular hump.
In the last instar, the horn is reduced to a nub.
Eyespot over the third thoracic segment is hidden in the resting caterpillar.
Ornately banded thoracic and prolegs.
Length to 7cm.
Erinnyis spp. caterpillars come in a seemingly endless variety.
The pupa, seemingly aposematic, is shiny black with orange bands and lines.
(2)
Range
Resident in so. FL and so. TX
(2) Straggles north sparingly, even as far as Canada.
(1)Habitat
Hammocks, orchards and yards.
(2)Season
Breeds year-round in so. FL and so. TX
(2)
Strays north during Aug.-Oct.
(3)Food
Recorded feeding on members of the following plant families: Caricaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Myrtaceae, Sapotaceae.
Life Cycle
Usually pupates above ground in the leaf litter
(2)Remarks
This is quite the commonest of all the hawkmoths of the American tropics (emphasis added), and becomes a perfect drug in collections made by amateur naturalists, who venture into those regions, net in hand.
(1) Internet References
Systema Naturae, 10th ed., v.1, p.491 Linnaeus' original description of the species (in Latin)
