''Erinnyis obscura'', the obscure sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Johann Christian Fabricius in 1775.

Distribution

It lives from the northern part of South America up to the central United States.

Description

Erinnyis obscura obscura MHNT CUT 2010 0 48 Limbo Chapare Cochabamba Bolivia female dorsal.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura obscura'' ♀ Erinnyis obscura obscura MHNT CUT 2010 0 48 Limbo Chapare Cochabamba Bolivia female ventral.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura obscura'' ♀ △

Biology

Adults are on wing year round in the tropics, southern Florida and southern Texas. A single specimen has been added to the Cornell University Insect Collection after being collected by John Dombrowski in Ithaca New York, Tompkins County. The species was identified by curator Jason Dombroeski. This suggests that E. obscura's range is much more northern than expected
[see Cornell Insect Collection Data Base
/nowiki>">ee Cornell Insect Collection Data Base">[see Cornell Insect Collection Data Base
/nowiki> The caterpillars feed on various members of the family Apocynaceae, including ''Rauvolfia ligustrina'', ''Rauvolfia tetraphylla'', ''Stemmadenia obovata'', ''Philibertia'', ''Cynanchum'' and '' Carica papaya'' as well as

Asclepiadaceae The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, they were treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family. They form a group of perennial herbs, twin ...

and spurge species, including '' Blepharodon mucronatum'', ''

Funastrum clausum ''Funastrum clausum'', commonly known as white twinevine, is a species of flowering plant in the Apocynum, dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It is native to southern Florida and Texas in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and So ...

'' and '' Morrenia odorata''.

Subspecies

*''Erinnyis obscura obscura'' (tropical and subtropical lowlands from Uruguay west to Bolivia and Argentina and north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to Florida, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. Strays recorded up to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota and Pennsylvania) *''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 (Galapagos Islands) *''Erinnyis obscura socorroensis'' Clark, 1926 (Revillagigedo Islands) Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador male dorsal.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♂ Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador male ventral.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♂△ Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador female dorsal.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♀ Erinnyis obscura conformis MHNT CUT 2010 0 526 Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador female ventral.jpg, ''Erinnyis obscura conformis'' ♀ △

References

External links

* obscura Sphingidae of South America Moths of North America Lepidoptera of Mexico Moths described in 1775 Moths of South America Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Dilophonotini-stub