''Stolidoptera tachasara'' is a
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 ...
of 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
Herbert Druce
Herbert Druce, FLS (14 July 1846, in London – 11 April 1913, in London) was an English entomologist.
His collections were acquired by Frederick DuCane Godman (1834–1919), Osbert Salvin (1835–1898), and James John Joicey (1870–1932) be ...
in 1888.
Distribution
It is found in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, as well as
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 ...
in northern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. It has also been spotted in
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 ...
.
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 79–92 mm.
Stolidoptera tachasara MHNT CUT 2010 0 144 Choroní Venezuela female dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal view
Stolidoptera tachasara MHNT CUT 2010 0 144 Choroní Venezuela female ventral.jpg, Female ventral view
Biology
Adults are on wing nearly year round (except March and December) in Costa Rica.
The larvae have been recorded feeding on ''
Thalia geniculata
''Thalia geniculata'', the bent alligator-flag, arrowroot, or fire-flag, is a plant species widespread across tropical Africa and much of the Americas.
''Thalia geniculata'' is native to a large region in Africa, from Senegal in the west to Sud ...
'' and ''
Prunus annularis''.
References
Dilophonotini
Moths described in 1888
Sphingidae of South America
Moths of South America
{{Dilophonotini-stub