Xylophanes pluto

Pluto sphinx
Conservation status
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Xylophanes
Species:	X. pluto
Binomial name
Xylophanes pluto (Fabricius, 1777) [1]
Synonyms
Sphinx plutoFabricius, 1777 Sphinx croesusDalman, 1823 Calliomma ochraceaWalker, 1856 Oreus thoratesHübner, 1831

Xylophanes pluto, the Pluto sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1777.

Distribution

It is native to the Americas, where it occurs from Argentina and Paraguay northward through Bolivia and the tropical and subtropical lowlands of Brazil, continuing through Central America to Mexico, the West Indies, southern Florida, and southern Texas. ^[2]

Description

The wingspan is 53–65 mm. The prominent broad chrome-yellow band distinguishes this species from all other Xylophanes s. The thorax is green. The abdomen has a thin medial line, interrupted at the base of each segment by a metallic yellow dot. The lateral lines are also present. The thorax and abdomen are maize yellow, with metallic yellow scales, a few of which are also found dorso-laterally.

• 
  Male dorsal
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  Male ventral
• 
  Female doral
• 
  Female ventral

Biology

There are multiple generations per year in Florida and Texas. Adults are on wing year round in the tropics.

The larvae feed on Chiococca and Erythroxylum species, and Hamelia patens and Morinda royoc .

References

1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2011-10-25. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. "Xylophanes pluto". Sphingidae of the Americas. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-25.