Sphingidae: Philampelini: Eumorpha of Colombia

HUMBERTO CALERO MEJIA, Estudiante de Biología, Socio Fundacion SAMANEA.
Email: Humberto writes, February 12, 2011:

"I am a student of biology at the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. Right now my grade development in the Colombian Pacific island called Gorgona, where I perform the update of the diurnal species list and try to generate the initial list of moths (Saturniidae and Sphingidae).

"As is well known in sphingidos website, in our country is not known a solid list for this group and would like to help improve the list of my country. You can suggest me identification keys for the family to help me in my studio. On February 21 I have a field trip to collect the material, if you can give me tips to improve collections sphingidos appreciate it.

"In my university library I found a research Amarillo (1998) which evaluates the moths as bio-indicators in the recorded seventeen sphingidos:

Adhemaius gannascus
Callionomia nomius
Ennyo ocypete
Erinnyis alope; E. obscura; E. ello
Eumorpha anchelomus
Manduca diffisa; M sp nr. hannibal; M. sp. nr. pellenia; dos especies mas hasta genero
Protambulyx sp. nr. strigilis
Xylophanes juanita; X. pluto; X. undata; y una especie hasta genero

Bibliographical source:
Amarillo A. 1998. Uso de polillas (lepidopetra: heterocera) como bio indicadores del estado de conservación del ecosistema. Informe final. Fundación para la promoción de la investigación y la tecnología. Santa fe de Bogota. 46 pag.

"Thank you very much for your attention and I hope to contribute to the rise of a more extensive list and information will be of great help."

Gorgona is a Colombian island in the Pacific Ocean situated about 50 km off the Colombian Pacific coast and part of the municipality of Guapi in the Department of Cauca. The island is about 9 km long (5.6 mi) and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide, with a maximum height of 338 m (1,110 ft); with an area of 10 square miles (26 km²). It is surrounded by numerous smaller stacks and keys. Gorgona is separated from the continent by a 270 meter (885 ft) deep underwater depression. The island functioned as a prison (similar to Alcatraz Island) until 1985 when it was turned into a National Natural Reservation Park noted for a large number of endemic species resulting from its isolation from the American continent.

This is a very tentative checklist based primarily on checklists for Costa Rica, Venezuela and Ecuador so I fully expect there are omissions and some erroneous inclusions. If you have corrections to offer, please contact
Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com.

Many thank to Gregory Nielsen who has been sending me images and data from Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia.

Philampelini

Eumorpha fasciatus, the Banded Sphinx Fw ground colour is dark brown with two broad, beige, intersecting transverse bands, one running from the apex to middle of fw-body juncture, the other running preapically to near midpoint of inner margin. Much thinner beige lines trace the veins in the post median area. 1 Eumorpha vitis the Vine Sphinx: Forewing is generally quite similar to fasciatus, but note much longer internal extension of the lowest thin beige post median line into the median area. In fasciatus, this lower thin line in the median area is only a very short dash before meeting the broad transverse lines. Vitis lacks the broad pink band, found in fasciatus, along the hindwing outer margin. 2 Eumorpha labruscae the Gaudy Sphinx: Fw ground colour bright green to grey-green with a darker triangular median area, delineated by very dark am line and dark median line. There is a brownish blotch near midpoint of outer line of darker triangular area, followed by a beige blotch along the inner margin. 3 Eumorpha labruscae, Villavicencio, Meta, 500m, common, June 20, 2011, Gregory Nielsen. Eumorpha phorbas: Fw ground colour grey-green with series of lighter grey-green bars, dashes, lines: aml runs straight from costa to i. m.; apical pml runs straight toward intersection of aml and i.m., but is broken at about 40% of its course by an L-shaped line that turns at about 135 degrees toward aml/im juncture. 4 Eumorpha phorbas, PNNG, Isla Gorgona, Cauca, Colombia, June 3, 2011, Humberto Calero Mejia Eumorpha capronnieri Fw ground colour grey to brown with distinct pattern of mottled green and darker brown areas. Forewing apex is slightly more produced and pointed in capronnieri, compared to phorbas. Note the outward extensions of dark green-brown stripes on abdominal tergites 5 and 6. Eumorpha satellitia: Fw: largely brown, dusted with paler scales, pinkish tone all over. CuA1 conspicuously paler than ground colour. Hw basally buff, i. m. same colour, not pink; dark brown or black submarginal black spots near tornus between CuA1 and 1A. Inner edge of marginal band diffuse. Eumorpha satellitia licaon Eumorpha satellitia licaon is somewhat variable in ground colour, but it is generally greyer than Eumorpha satellitia satellitia and never as green as Eumorpha pandorus. The hindwing upperside inner margin is marked with a few red-pink scales. Eumorpha anchemolus: Fw o. m. slightly crenulated. Similar to Eumorpha triangulum, but fw upperside pattern less contrasting and variegated. Dark subapical costal patch truncated on Rs4. White fringe along i. m. from body to slightly beyond median rhombiform patch very conspicuous. 6 Eumorpha anchemolus, PNNG, Isla Gorgona, Cauca, Colombia, May 27, 2011, Humberto Calero Mejia Eumorpha cissi: Similar to anchemolus, but ground colour: dark greenish-grey; anchemolus: brown. Cissi has more falcate apex. Cissi lacks strongly contrasting white fringe extending (in anchemolus) from body to slightly past dark rhombiform region. Two well defined zigzag lines in pale area along i. m. between dark rhombiform region and anal angle. Eumorpha cissi Reserva Natural El Dorado, Santa Marta, Magdalena, March 13, 2011, 1950m, courtesy of Joakim Johansson. Eumorpha obliquus: Fw: more glossy grey than anchemolus; three straight oblique parallel lines present in basal area running straight from costal margin to CuP fold; discal spot absent; dark patch near tornus broader than in similar species, rounded triangular; fringe of posterior margin buff, less extensive than anchemolus. Eumorpha triangulum: Note the dark trapezoidal patch emanating from the costa just prior to the apex. In E. triangulum this patch continues into the next intraneural segment, giving triangular appearance, while in the very similar E. anchemolus same area remains a trapezoid without "tailed" extension into the next section. Rain forest/cloud forest species unlikely at lower elevations. Eumorpha megaeacus: Forewing has conspicuous, but ill-defined, pinkish-beige longitudinal band running mostly between CuA1 and CuA2 from wing base, subparallel to inner margin, to near outer margin. Below this band, to inner margin, appears a patchwork of patterns. Eumorpha megaeacus, Villavicencio, Meta, August 24, 2011, 500m, courtesy of Gregory Nielsen. Eumorpha drucei: Dark, trapezoidal, olive patch midway along i. m. sharply pointed/extended toward o. m.. Boldly marked, orangey veins CuA1, CuA2 have tawny colouration extending toward wing base in pale band. Dark triangular patch near anal angle extends upward to vein CuA1. Broad pink patch on hw anal angle. Discal spot black in offwhite median area. unlikely Eumorpha adamsi: Almost uniformly brown forewing, relatively thin lines, convex forewing outer margin, Similar to Eumorpha translineatus, but distinguishable by bright pink hindwing marginal band and tornal patch. Most pronounced fw line runs obliquely from midpoint of costa toward anal angle. unlikely

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