Pachylia ficus
Fig Sphinx

Pachylia ficus male courtesy of Dan Janzen.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 Subfamily: Macroglossinae, Harris, 1839 Tribe: Dilophonotini, Burmeister, 1878 Genus: Pachylia Walker, 1856 ........... Species: ficus Linnaeus, 1758

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Fig sphinx, Pachylia ficus (Wing span: 4 3/4 - 5 1/2 inches (12 - 14 cm; 130mm)) flies from
Uruguay (EB);
Brazil: Paraiba; Mato Grosso; Minas Gerais; southern Maranhao;
Bolivia: Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, La Paz;
Paraguay: Asuncion; Concepcion; paraguari; Canindeyu;
Argentina: Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Formosa, Jujuy, Salta (EB), Misiones;
Colombia: Meta (GN)) north;
through Central America: Panama to Mexico: Quintana Roo (BT), probalby throughout Mexico, and the West Indies to Florida, southern Texas, and southern Arizona. It occasionally strays as far north as Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Greg Nielsen sends the image of this very "green" specimen from Colombia.

Pachylia ficus, Villavicentio, Km 13 via AcaciasMeta, Colombia,
04°03’55.0 N 073°41’87.0 W, 500m, January 15, 2011, lfw=55mm, courtesy of Gregory Nielsen.

Visit Pachylia ficus, Brownsville, Cameron County, courtesy of Gus A. Rentfro.

Visit Pachylia ficus, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, November 2009, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

The upperside of the forewing is orangish brown with a paler patch along the costa at the tip. The upperside of the hindwing is orange to orangish brown with a black outer border, a black median band, and a white spot on the outer margin near the body. Pachylia ficus Yasuni, Ecuador, (September 10, 2002 - 11:55 PM) in typical resting pose, courtesy of Steve Graser.

FLIGHT TIMES:

There are several flights throughout the year in the tropics, peninsular Florida, and southern Texas. Johan van't Bosch reports a September flight in Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Larry Valentine reports a November flight in Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Tony James reports a June flight in Panama.

Ezequiel Bustos reports it from Argentina: Salta (405m).

Alexander von Buldring reports a February flight in Paraiba, Brazil.

Ben Trott reports a December 13, 2012, eclosion of stock from Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, about three weeks after pupation.

Pachylia ficus, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil,
40m, February 26, 2009, 8:40pm, coourtesy of Alexander von Buldring.

Pachylia ficus female, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
130mm, December 13, 2012, courtesy of Ben Trott.

Pachylia ficus female (verso), Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
130mm, December 13, 2012, courtesy of Ben Trott;
eclosion two and a half to three weeks from pupation date.

Adult like to nectar from flowers, including Asystasia gangetica, starting just before sunset.

Pachylia ficus, female, Bonaire, January 28, 2005,
courtesy of Abraham Potappel, via Diane McIntyre.

ECLOSION:

Larvae pupate in thin walled cocoons under leaf litter.

Pachylia ficus 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.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE: Females feed and lay eggs on fig leaves, especially Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea). Ficus carica, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus religiosa, Ficus pumila, Ficus gamelleira, Ficus prinoides, Ficus pumila and Artocarpus integrifolia are also listed as hosts. Larvae pupate in cocoons spun amongst leaf litter. There are several colour morphs. Image, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, April 2004, courtesy of Lee Snyder.

Pachylia ficus, Pompano Beach, April 12, 2007, courtesy of Chris Marino.
Visit additional Pachylia ficus images by Chris.

Ben Trott sends the images below and writes from Quintana Roo, Mexico, "Pachylia ficus (x4), very easy to find due to their size, but also highly parasited, 3 out of 4 died before pupating. I came across three colour morphs, brown, green, & blue/green. This appears to depend on which Ficus they feed on: the brown larva was found on a Ficus aurea with many leaves with brown patches. All larvae were heavily parasited, including a female which managed to pupate, two weeks later, about ten big black parasitic flies broke their way out of the pupa."

Pachylia ficus fifth instar (brown form), Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

Pachylia ficus fifth instar (blue-green form), Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

Pachylia ficus fifth instar, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

Pachylia ficus fifth instar prepupal, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

Pachylia ficus fifth instar prepupal, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

Pachylia ficus fifth instar prepupal, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

On September 5, 2012, Elisabet Mercado sent me the following image from Mexico City, Mexico, and asked for identification help and help with possible care of larva.

I replied:

"Elisabet,
"I am pretty sure it is larva of Pachylia ficus, the Fig Sphinx. You can try offering it some fig leaves, still affixed to twig, but I suspect it is done feeding and is ready to pupate. My Mexico Sphingidae site is at http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/Mexsphinx.htm
"Here is an article that explains how to care for found larvae http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/ManducasextaAugust2008tw.htm The species is different and the food plants are different, but general procedures are same with same result. Good luck. Please send a picture of the adult moth when it emerges, probably in three to five weeks.
"Bill Oehlke"

Pachylia ficus fifth instar, Mexico City, Mexico,
September 5, 2012, courtesy of Elisabet Mercado.

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