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Species Erinnyis ello - Ello Sphinx - Hodges#7834

Erinnyis ello? - Erinnyis ello Hawk Moth Caterpillar of some kind? - Erinnyis ello Erinnyis ello Ello Sphinx – Erinnyis ello - Erinnyis ello Unknown Sphinx Moth - Erinnyis ello Ello Sphinx cat 1 - Erinnyis ello Erinnyis ello in Oregon! - Erinnyis ello Erinnyis ello - female
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
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 Erinnyis
Species ello (Ello Sphinx - Hodges#7834)
Hodges Number
7834
Other Common Names
Cassava Hornworm
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Erinnyis ello (Linnaeus, 1758)
Sphinx ello Linnaeus 1758
Numbers
600376
Size
Wingspan 75-85 mm.
Identification
Sexually dimorphic. (1)

            ♂                             ♀

Larva: (2)
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 ello caterpillars come in a seemingly endless variety.

The pupa, seemingly aposematic, is shiny black with orange bands and lines. (2)
Range
Southern Florida and southern Texas. (2)
Strays north to Canada. (1)
Moth Photographers Group - large map with some collection locations and dates.
Central and South America, including the Galapagos Islands
Habitat
Hammocks, orchards and yards. (2)
Season
Breeds year-round in southern Florida and south Texas.(2)
Strays north during August and October.(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, and becomes a perfect drug in collections made by amateur naturalists, who venture into those regions, net in hand. (1)
See Also
Compare on the pinned plates of Moth Photographers Group.
Print References
Comstock, J.A. & C.M. Dammers 1938. Studies on the metamorphoses of six California moths. Southern California Academy of Scirnces 37(3). p. 105, pl. 31-33.
Hodges, R.W., 1971. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 21. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. p. 99; pl. 9.6-7. (4)
Holland, W.J., 1922. The Moth Book. Doubleday, Page & Company. p. 58. (1)
Tuttle, J. P., 2007. Hawk Moths of North America. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. p. 135; pl. 4.9-10.(5)
Internet References
Silkmoths - species page by Bill Oehlke.
Systema Naturae, 10th ed., v.1, p.491    Linnaeus' original description of the species (in Latin)
Works Cited
1.The Moth Book
W. J. Holland. 1922. Doubleday, Page & Company.
2.Caterpillars of Eastern North America
David L. Wagner. 2005. Princeton University Press.
3.Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America
Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.
4.The Moths of America North of Mexico Fascicle 21 Sphingidae
Ronald W. Hodges. 1971. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.
5.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.
6.North American Moth Photographers Group
7.Butterflies of North America