Species Proserpinus terlooii - Terloo Sphinx - Hodges#7879

7879

Proserpinus terlooi Hy. Edwards, 1875

Arctonotus terlooi

Pterogon terlooii (misspelling Strecker, 1877)

Returned to Proserpinus by Hodges, 1971

Erroneously treated as a species of Arctonotus by d'Abrera, [1987]

Transferred back to Proserpinus by Carcasson & Heppner, 1996

At the request of Dr. Herman Behr, this species was named for Baron Popelaire de Terloo (sometimes Terloot), who collected the specimens in Behr's collection that Edwards described. Unfortunately or not, Edwards continued the "misprinted" (according to Behr) spelling "Terloo" from Behr's description of the butterfly Neophasia terlooii in 1869. An Attempt was made to amend the spelling of the butterfly but rejected as unjustified. In any event, there are many references to the baron in letters and scientific descriptions noting that he collected everything from mummies, to bugs, to birds in Chile, Peru, Mexico, and the Sierra Madres of California. No matter the spelling, Belgian nobleman Jean-Baptiste Joseph Louis Popelaire de Terloo (1810-1870) was a well-known explorer, born in Brussels, married in Chile and died in Algiers. Besides the moth and butterfly, Baron Terloo has a South American hummingbird (Discosura popelairii) named for him.

Wingspan 4.2-4.8 cm.

Larva to 4 cm.

Adult - uniform olive green with a darker median band. Hindwing is red with an olive green border.

Southern Arizona. (1)

Adults fly July and August.

Larval hosts are in Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) with specific records on scarlet spiderling (Boerhavia coccinea), Coulter's spiderling (B. coulteri) and erect spiderling (B. erecta). Oddly, all other members of this genus, and two related genera, feed on plants from the Evening Primrose family (Onagraceae). This fact is used as evidence for saltational evolution in Proserpinus.(2)

Eggs; first instar larva; larva; larva; pupa; adult

Adults are not strongly attracted to lights. They are most often found at flowers in early evening or at night. Use a flashlight at night to find adults on flowers and larvae on host plants.

Edwards, Hy. 1875. Pacific Coast Lepidoptera, no. 11 - list of the Sphingidae of California and adjacent districts, with descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 6: 90

Hodges, R.W. 1971. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 21:p.141; pl.12.14

Holland, W.J. 1915. The moth book. Doubleday, Page & Company. p.71 (3)

Strecker, H., 1877. Lepidoptera, Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres, indigenous and exotic; with descriptions and colored illustrations (v. 14-15). Owen's Steam Book & Job Printing, Pl.14, f.2. (4)

Tuttle, J.P. 2007. Hawk moths of North America, a natural history study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada. Wedge Foundation p.192; pl.3.20 (5)

Moth Photographers Group (6)

Sphingidae of the Americas