''Pseudosphinx'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

genus in the family

Sphingidae 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, bu ...

first described by

Hermann Burmeister Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine zoologist, entomologist, herpetologist, botany, botanist, and coleopterologist. He served as a professor at ...

in 1856. Its only species, ''Pseudosphinx tetrio'', was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1771. Its common names include tetrio sphinx, giant gray sphinx, frangipani hornworm,Dunford, J. C. and K. A. Barbara
Tetrio Sphinx, Giant Gray Sphinx, Frangipani Hornworm, ''Pseudosphinx tetrio'' (Linnaeus) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Sphingidae).
EENY-344. Entomology and Nematology. Florida Cooperative Extension Service. University of Florida IFAS. 2005. and plumeria caterpillar.Sloan, S. A., et al. (2007)
Phenology of ''Plumeria alba'' and its herbivores in a tropical dry forest.
''Biotropica'' 39(2), 195–201. In the island of Martinique it is best known as Rasta caterpillar (''chenille rasta'', in French) because of its colors which are reminiscent of the ones found in

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

clothing and accessories. It is native to the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

Americas from the southern and southwestern United States to

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 ...

. The occasional individual has been recorded as far north as the northeastern United States.

Description

The adult moth is brown with gray and white markings, and the hindwing is a darker brown. The female may be lighter in tone. The body has gray, white, and black bands. 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 12.7 to 14 centimeters, and the female is generally slightly larger than the male. Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Cartago Tapanti Costa Rica, male dorsal.jpg, Male dorsal Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Cartago Tapanti Costa Rica, male ventral.jpg, Male ventral Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Itatiaia National Park Brazil, female dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal Pseudosphinx tetrio MHNT CUT 2010 390, Itatiaia National Park Brazil, female ventral.jpg, Female ventral The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

is a

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

which may exceed 15 centimeters in length. It is black with

aposematic Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or ...

yellow bands and a red-orange head. Toward the posterior end is an orange bump with a black horn roughly 2 centimeters long. The legs are orange with black spots. The

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

is about 7 centimeters long. It is yellow when new, turning brown and darkening to a reddish brown as it hardens.

Biology

The moth specializes on plants of the dogbane family,

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...

. Host taxa include ''

Plumeria ''Plumeria'' (), known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species variously are endemic to Mexico, Central America, and ...

'' species such as red frangipani (''P. rubra'') and white frangipani (''P. alba''), and golden trumpet (''Allamanda cathartica''). ''P. alba'' in particular is so often infested with this caterpillar that it has been nicknamed "the wormy tree". The female lays eggs in clusters of about 50 to 100. The caterpillars feed on the plant, detoxifying the poisonous

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

present in most Apocynaceae. It pupates in the leaf litter or under the soil. The adult feeds on

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

. It has been recorded on

Madagascar periwinkle ''Catharanthus roseus'', commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native and endemic to M ...

(''Catharanthus roseus'') and

pequi ''Caryocar brasiliense'', known as pequi (, ) or "souari nut", like its congeners, is an edible fruit popular in some areas of Brazil, especially in Centerwestern Brazil. Taxonomy The pequi tree grows up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. It i ...

(''Caryocar brasiliense''). It has been observed as a

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

of the fringed star orchid (''Coilostylis ciliaris'') in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. The caterpillar has several

antipredator adaptation Anti-predator adaptations are mechanisms developed through evolution that assist prey organisms in their constant struggle against predators. Throughout the animal kingdom, adaptations have evolved for every stage of this struggle, namely by avo ...

s. Its consumption of toxic plants makes it distasteful to most predators. An exception is the

smooth-billed ani The smooth-billed ani (''Crotophaga ani'') is a bird in the cuckoo family. It is a resident breeding species from southern Florida, the Caribbean, parts of Central America, south to western Ecuador, Brazil, northern Argentina and southern Chile. ...

(''Crotophaga ani''), which tears the caterpillar apart to eat it, avoiding the gut containing the plant material. The caterpillar is also coated in barbed

urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

s, which stick deeply in skin and cause irritation. If caught, the caterpillar bites.Mitton, J
Caterpillar or coral snake?
''Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine''. University of Colorado, Boulder. 14 May 2010.

Impacts

The species has been known to damage and defoliate ''Plumeria''. Each caterpillar can consume three large leaves per day, and it will continue eating into the branches if it finishes the available foliage. Even in the case of defoliation, the species does not generally kill plants. The caterpillars are large and conspicuous and can be controlled by plucking them from the tree.

Gallery

Eggs of Pseudosphinx tetrio. Frangipani Hawk moth..jpg, Eggs Puppe von Pseudosphinx tetrio.jpg, Chrysalis Pseudosphinx tetrio, caterpillar, Caribbean coast Colombia, November 2015.tif, Caterpillar

References

External links

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Featured Creature article fo
''Pseudosphinx tetrio''
*Price, S
Caterpillars no reason to panic.
''NationNews.com''. 23 April 2011. {{Taxonbar , from1=Q2593501 , from2=Q135359 Dilophonotini Moths described in 1771 Orchid pollinators Sphingidae of South America Moths of South America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister Monotypic moth genera