Adhemarius daphne interrupta
Updated as per personal communication with Brian Fletcher (Rancho Naturalista Lodge, Cartago, Costa Rica, October 24, 2007, 900m); March 19, 2014

Adhemarius daphne interrupta
(Boisduval, [1875]) Amplypterus

Adhemarius daphne interrupta??, Rancho Naturalista Lodge, Cartago, Costa Rica,
October 24, 2007, 900m, courtesy of Brian Fletcher.

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

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Sphingoidea, Dyar, 1902
Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802
Subfamily: Sphinginae, Latreille, 1802
Tribe: Smerinthini, Grote & Robinson, 1865
Genus: Adhemarius, Oiticica, 1939
Species: daphne, (Boisduval, [1875])
Subspecies: interrupta, (Closs, 1915)

MIDI MUSIC

"What.A.Wonderful.World"
copyright C. Odenkirk
MIDI CITY
ON.OFF
<bgsound src="world.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Adhemarius daphne interrupta (approximate wingspan: mm) flies in
Mexico: Quintana Roo (BT); Costa Rica, so I suspect it flies throughout Central America.

I have no good resource with an image of Adhemarius daphne interrupta labelled as such. Nor do I have what I would consider a valid description of this subspecies. Accoring to J. B Heppner's Atlas of Neoptropical Lepidoptera, Closs, 1915, first described this moth as a form of Amplypterus gannascus gannascus.

In 1939 Oicitica introduced the genus name Adhemarius and a number of species from Amplypterus were reassigned to that genus.

In 1875 Boisduval described Amplypterus daphne, which also has been reassigned to Adhemarius, and was treated as a synonym of Adhemarius g. gannascus for a time. This moth (interrupta) was then recognized as a subspecies of nominate gannascus, but has most recently been validated by DNA barcoding analysis as more closely related to the reinstated Adhemarius daphne. Hence it stands now as Adhemarius daphne interrupta.

I have identified the specimen at the top of the page as Adhemarius d. interrupta by process of elimination. It could be nominate gannascus; it could be nominate daphne, but because it has a series of five very prominent, dentate, diffuse, forewing lines not seen by me (Bill Oehlke) in any other examples of daphne or gannascus, I think it may be Adhemarius daphne interrupta. I could be wrong!

"This species (nominate daphne) is frequently confused with A. gannascus. However, the two species are easily separated by the shape of the subapical mark on the forewing costa (Haxaire, 1986). In A. gannascus, this mark is a narrow, comma-shaped lunule, whereas in A. daphne, it is much broader. Haxaire & Herbin (2000) recorded this species (nominate daphne) from Yocumo [Yacuma] (350m), Department of Beni."

Adhemarius daphne interrupta??, Rancho Naturalista Lodge, Cartago, Costa Rica,
October 24, 2007, 900m, courtesy of Brian Fletcher.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larval Food Plants


Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Lauraceae (BT) .......

Lauraceae

Return to Smerinthini Tribe

Return to Main Sphingidae Index

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.

This page is brought to you by Bill Oehlke and the WLSS. Pages are on space rented from Bizland. If you would like to become a "Patron of the Sphingidae Site", contact Bill.

Please send sightings/images to Bill. I will do my best to respond to requests for identification help.

Enjoy one of nature's wonderments: Live Saturniidae (Giant Silkmoth) cocoons.


Show appreciation for this site by clicking on flashing butterfly to the left.
The link will take you to a page with links to many insect sites.