Phryxus caicus, Paraguay, PYBIO.

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Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 Subfamily: Macroglossinae, Harris, 1839 Tribe: Dilophonotini, Burmeister, 1878 Genus: Phryxus Hubner, 1819 ........... Species: caicus Cramer, 1777

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Caicus sphinx, Phryxus caicus (wingspan: 2 3/4 - 3 1/4 inches (7 - 8.3 cm)), flies from southern Brazil: southern Maranhao; Paraguay: Asuncion, Misiones, Boqueron, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro, Canindeyu, Alto Parana, Central, Cordillera, Paraguari, Guaira, and probably Caaguazu and Neembucu (AOC); Bolivia: Beni, Santa Cruz (350-1700m); and northeastern Argentina: Misiones; through Central America and north to Arizona and southern Florida. Surinam is the specimen type locality. It is also recorded in Venezuela; and Colombia: Meta: Villavicencio; and it probably flies throughout Central America.

The abdomen of the Caicus sphinx has distinct black and tan bands. The upperside of the forewing is brown with a tan band along the inner margin and a thin tan streak in the middle of the wing. The upperside of the hindwing is red-orange with short black bands along the veins at the outer margin. Phryxus caicus (above-right), December 23, 2005, Misiones Province, near Puerto Iguazu, near light at night, courtesy of Oz Rittner.

Phryxus caicus, Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia,
Km 13 via Acacias, 04°03’55.0 N 073°41’87.0 W
66mm, LFW=31mm, February 24, 2011, 500m, courtesy of Gregory Nielsen.

FLIGHT TIMES:

There are at least two flights in Florida, from January-March and July-September. In Costa Rica moths have been taken in April, June-July and September through January. Gregory Nielsen reports a February flight in Meta, Colombia. In northeastern Argentina there is at least one flight in December.

Sergio Rios Diaz confirms flights in Paraguay in January-February-March and May.

ECLOSION:

Moths eclose from pupae in fine silk cocoons spun up amongst leaf litter.

Phryxus caicus male courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Phryxus caicus female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the abdomen. Adults nectar at flowers, including Asystasia gangetica at dusk.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae feed on Mesechites trifida and probably on other members of the Apocynaceae (Dogbane family: Echites). In Florida larvae have been reported on mangrove rubber vine (Rhabdadenia biflora). Carica papaya serves as a larval host in Brazil.

Moths emerge in as few as fourteen days after pupation from a cocoon of very fine silk spun among leaf litter.

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