Hawkmoths of  Brazil  by Alan Martin

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IDENTIFICATION KEY: AMBULYCINI


See also the Photo Gallery or Pinned Specimens or General Information

1.  Protambulyx

P. astygonus: similar to goeldii but lacking the distinct discal spot. Smaller than eurycles and with brown latticing on the hindwings rather than the black of eurycles. No forewing discal band.


Wing: 40-57 mm









P. goeldii: similar to astygonus but note the distinct discal spot. Note also the hindwing pattern. Only found in the North and North-east regions.


Wing: 44-55 mm







P. eurycles: larger than astygonus and goeldii. Yellow hindwings with black latticing. The male eurycles has a central black cross line on the forewing which is less obvious in the female. Note also the short discal band from the costa on the forewing.


Wing: 48-70  mm







P. fasciatus: recently split from eurycles and replaces it in South and South-east Brazil. It is smaller than eurycles, is generally darker and the antemedial and postmedial bands are broader.







P. strigilis: uniform brown forewings and bright orange hindwings. Note the discal spot on the inner margin of the forewing.


Wing: 36-65 mm



P. sulphurea: pale yellow hindwings separate sulphurea and pearsoni from strigilis. Note the narrow fringe to the forewing compared with the broad black sub-marginal area in other Protambulyx species. Sulphurea is a rare species in Brazil and only found in the far north.



P. pearsoni: similar to sulphurea but only found in South-east Brazil.


Wing: 54-62 mm

2.  Adhemarius

A. daphne daphne: separating daphne from gannascus can be very difficult except for ‘classic’ specimens. The classic gannascus specimen has a small comma-shaped subapical patch and the subbasal band usually extends across the forewing to the costa. The classic daphne specimen has a broader subapical patch and the subbasal band stops short of the costa. Daphne is generally browner when compared with the greyer gannascus.


Wing: 43-62 mm


A. gannascus: see daphne above.


Wing: 45-64 mm


A. eurysthenes: identified by the shape and extent of the broad subbasal band. The band extends from the inner to the outer edge of the forewing, but unlike A. gagarini or A. ganascus, the upper edge is irregular. Note also the broad subapical patch.


Wing: 42-60 mm


A. gagarini: the subbasal band extends from the inner to the outer edge of the forewing and is straight on both sides. Note also the large subapical patch.


Wing: 44-66 mm



A. palmeri: the subbasal band is broken but the single narrow line that crosses the forewing below the band is distinctive.


Wing: 42-66 mm


A. roessleri: note the incomplete subbasal band, the broad subapical patch and the hindwing pattern. Only recorded from the North of Brazil.


Wing: 48-66 mm


Note: some Brazilian published papers list Adhemarius ypsilon as occurring in northern Brazil but these records most likely refer to the recently described roessleri.

3.  Orecta

daphne

gannascus

O. comus: similar to lycidas but with narrower forewings and a more acute apex. The discal spot on comus is tiny or absent whereas it is always present and conspicuous in lycidas.


Wing: 34-51 mm



O. lycidas lycidas: see comus above. Lycidas has only been reported from South and South-east Brazil.


Wing: 40-59 mm




O. tithonus: recently split from lycidas and only found in South Brazil. It has a more contrasted pattern on the forewing and a very narrow basal patch.


Female

Male

Male

Female

Female

Male

Female

Male

O. tithonus - not illustrated