Erinnyis alope 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: Erinnyis Hubner, [1819] ........... Species: alope Drury, 1770

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Alope Sphinx Moth, Erinnyis alope (Wing span: 3 1/4 - 3 15/16 inches (wingspan approximations: males: 82-100mm; females: 110-115mm), flies from
northern Argentina: Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Chaco, Cordoba, Formosa, Santa Fe, Misiones, Jujuy, Salta, Tucuman; Entre Rios (JRR)
Bolivia: La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and
Paraguay: Concepcion, Guaira, Central, Amambay, Canindeyu;
Uruguay north to
Venezuela: Amazonas, Aragua, Bolivar, Lara, Sucre;
Colombia: Meta; through Central America;
French Guiana: Kaw;
Ecuador;
Peru;
Costa Rica;
Mexico: Quintana Roo: Cozumel (BO);
Belize: Corozol, Cayo, Stan Creek, Toledo;
and the West Indies to south Florida, South Texas, southern New Mexico, and southern Arizona. This species has strayed to Arkansas and Kansas and further north and east.

I suspect it also flies in Guyana, Suriname: Sipaliwini District: Stoelmanseiland (JvB), Dominican Republic: St. Dom, and throughout Central America.

Erinnyis alope, Jct FR 49 and FR 812, Patagonia Mtns., Santa Cruz Co., AZ,
August 7, 2010, 5100 ft, courtesy of Evan Rand.

Erinnyis alope, Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Bedros Orchanian.

The moth has also been reported in Brazil: Para, and I am pretty sure I have corrected identified a heavily parasitized larva (bottom of page) from southeastern Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is also confirmed from southern Maranhao.

Jamaica: is the specimen type locality; Westmoreland Parish.

Erinnyis alope, Osununu, Misiones, Argentina,
November 24, 2009, courtesy of Ezequiel Núñez Bustos.

Erinnyis alope, Stoelmanseiland, Sipaliwini District, Suriname,
July 22, 2011, courtesy of Johan van't Bosch, id by Bill Oehlke.

The upperside of the forewing is dark brown with short yellowish streaks on the inner half and wavy yellowish bands on the outer half. The upperside of the hindwing is bright yellow with a wide dark brown border.

It is somewhat similar to Isognathus species, but ello has a double thoracic crest (single in Isognathus) and very dark brown (sometimes almost black) upperside to the head, thorax and forewings.

Erinnyis alope, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County, Florida, October 8, 2009, courtesy of Donna Marie Kisslan.

Donna found three Erinnyis alope larvae on her papaya September 16, 2009. She took care of them and saw them pupate on September 24-25, and then emerge about two weeks later on October 8, 2009.

Erinnyis alope, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County, Florida, October 8, 2009, courtesy of Donna Marie Kisslan.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Erinnyis alope broods continuously in the tropics and in south Florida. Gregory Nielsen reports an April 17, 2011, flight in Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia, 500m. FGS reports February and August flights in French Guiana. Johan van't Bosch reports a July flight in Suriname.

Adults nectar at flowers and have been reported hovering over flowers of Asystasia gangetica at dusk.

Erinnyis alope, Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia,
Km 13 via Acacias; 04°03’55.0 N 073°41’87.0 W, FWL = 50 mm Wingspan 115 mm;
April 17, 2011, 500m, courtesy of Gregory Nielsen.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae formed in loose cocoons spun among surface litter.

Erinnyis alope 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:

Larvae feed on papaya (Carica papaya), nettlespurge (Jatropha), and allamanda (Allamanda). Reinhard Foerster reports them on cassava/yuca/tapioca (Mandioca sylvestre) in Dos de Mayo, Misiones, Argentina.

Erinnyis alope dark form courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Erinnyis alope dorsal view courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Erinnyis alope green form courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Jennifer Rush sends the following image which she identified as Erinnyis alope. I think she is correct, but I cannot rule out E. ello. The host plant, frangipani, would be a new one for either species.

Erinnyis alope fifth instar on frangipani, Broward County, Florida,
May 24, 2014, courtesy of Jennifer Rush.

Erinnyis alope fifth instar, heavily parasitized, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine, tentative id by Bill Oehlke

Erinnyis alope fifth instar, heavily parasitized, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine, tentative id by Bill Oehlke

Erinnyis alope, pupa from larva on Mandioca sylvestre, Dos de Mayo, Misiones, Argentina,
March 3, 2011, courtesy of Reinhard Foerster.

Visit Erinnyis alope, larva on Mandioca sylvestre, pupa, and adult, Dos de Mayo, Misiones, Argentina, courtesy of Reinhard Foerster.

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