''Pseudococytius'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

hawkmoth The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, b ...

s. The single species, ''Pseudococytius beelzebuth'' was placed in ''

Cocytius ''Cocytius'' is a genus of hawkmoths (family Sphingidae). The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. Species , the Sphingidae Taxonomic Inventory accepts eight species. The genera '' Amphonyx'', ''Ancistrognathus'', '' Morcocytius'' and '' ...

'' for a long time.

Distribution

It is found from

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

south through

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 115–148 mm. Pseudococytius beelzebuth MHNT CUT 2010 0 362 Guapi-mirim, Estado do Rio, Brazil, female dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal Pseudococytius beelzebuth MHNT CUT 2010 0 362 Guapi-mirim, Estado do Rio, Brazil, female ventral.jpg , Female ventral

Biology

There are at least two generations per year in Costa Rica with adults on wing from January to February and again from July to August. The larvae feed on '' Guatteria diospyroides''.

References

Sphingini Monotypic moth genera Moths described in 1875 Moths of Central America Moths of South America {{Sphinginae-stub