Isognathus caricae

Isognathus caricae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Isognathus
Species:	I. caricae
Binomial name
Isognathus caricae (Linnaeus, 1758) [1]
Synonyms
Sphinx caricae Linnaeus, 1758 Sphinx cacusCramer, 1775

Isognathus caricae is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Costa Rica, French Guiana, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil. ^[2]

Description

It is similar to Acherontia species and other Isognathus species, from which it can be distinguished by the dark marginal band of the hindwing upperside, which is replaced by a series of black streaks along the veins.

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  Dorsal
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  △ Ventral
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  Dorsal
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  △ Ventral

Biology

There are probably multiple generations per year.

The larvae have been recorded feeding on Himatanthus obovatus , Allamanda cathartica and Allamanda schottii . They have long tails and are very colourful, suggesting they are unpalatable to birds.

Subspecies

• Isognathus caricae caricae (Costa Rica, French Guiana, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil)
• Isognathus caricae rainermarxiEitschberger, 1999 (Peru)

Gallery

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References

1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2011-10-19. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2011-10-19.