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Species Madoryx pseudothyreus - Hodges#7843

Madoryx pseudothyreus, the false-windowed sphinx - Madoryx pseudothyreus Moth - Madoryx pseudothyreus Moth - Madoryx pseudothyreus Pinned Specimen - Madoryx pseudothyreus Madoryx pseudothyreus Madoryx pseudothyreus Madoryx pseudothyreus Madoryx pseudothyreus - male
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Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Bombycoidea (Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths)
Family Sphingidae (Sphinx Moths)
Subfamily Macroglossinae
Tribe Dilophonotini
Genus Madoryx
Species pseudothyreus (Madoryx pseudothyreus - Hodges#7843)
Hodges Number
7843
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
First described in 1865 by Augustus Radcliffe Grote as Hemeroplanes pseudothyreus
Madoryx pseudothyreus
Explanation of Names
From the prefix pseudo- (Greek pseudos / ψευδος- "lie, falsehood") meaning "false, imitation" + Thyreus: Grote thought the general coloration resembled that of Sphecodina abbottii, which was known at the time as Thyreus abbottii
Numbers
the only species in the genus for North America north of Mexico
Size
wingspan 6.6-7 cm (1)
Identification
Adults - grayish, with scaloped wing margins and a few white spots (1)

Larvae - brown with a short flashy horn, eyespots on the thorax and yellow on the legs (1)
Range
coastal areas of southern Florida and the Keys, common in Biscayne National Park (1)
Habitat
mangrove swamps, shrubby salt marshes, and shorelines where black mangrove persists (1)
Food
larvae feed on Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) - usda.gov - plant information
Life Cycle
eggs laid singly on host plant. Mature larvae spin a cocoon on the tree above ground (1)
Print References
J. P. Tuttle, 2007. Hawk Moths of North America; p. 143; pl. 5.17.(2)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group - species page with photographs of living and pinned adults.
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, v.5, p.46    Grote's original description of the species.
Works Cited
1.Rare, Declining, and Poorly Known Butterflies and Moths of Forests and Woodlands in the Eastern United States
Dale F. Schweitzer, Marc C. Minno, David L. Wagner. 2011. U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, FHTET-2011-01. .
2.The Hawk Moths of North America, A Natural History Study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada.
James P Tuttle. 2007. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation Inc.
Contributed by Jason D. Roberts on 20 October, 2009 - 6:05pm
Additional contributions by Bob Patterson, Chuck Entz, Maury Heiman, Randy Hardy
Last updated 15 February, 2012 - 2:15pm

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