This site has been created by Bill Oehlke.
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.
TAXONOMY:
Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 |
Manduca diffissa diffissa, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 920mm
courtesy of Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos,
id by Ian Kitching.
"Manduca diffissa diffissa is a small grey subspecies from SE Argentina and Uruguay. It might be a separate/distinct species? Rothschild & Jordan listed M. d. diffissa from Paraguay but I suspect these would be better placed as M. d. petuniae (though I have not checked closely).
"Manduca diffissa petuniae is generally (but not always) a pale brown form from SE Brazil as far north as Minas Gerais (and probably in the Iguazu, Argentina area).
"Manduca diffissa tropicalis is a larger, darker form from Minas Gerais to Colombia. However, to quote R&J: 'The ground colour of the forewing is, however, variable, some individuals being decidedly more russet than others, though not so pale as petuniae'."
"Manduca diffissa mesosa is a form from Salta and Tucuman in northern Argentina (and probably southern Bolivia) that is intermediate between tropicalis and petuniae(!).
"Manduca diffissa zischkai is a high altitude subspecies from Bolivia that may be a separate species.
"Manduca diffissa ssp in eastern Ecuador is decidedly greenish, and the distinction between this and Manduca mossi is difficult to determine and is under study by Jean Haxaire (it was being studied by Jean-Marie Cadiou and me until his untimely passing).
"I doubt that the distinction between mesosa, petuniae and tropicalis will hold, but maybe DNA barcoding will suggest how things should be organized."
CATE: "A small pale southern form. Forewing upperside with postdiscal line strongly marked, but the white, submarginal zigzag line is not prominent, generally barely indicated; apart from the postdiscal, all lines sometimes obsolescent."Due to weak am line, and quite pale area along inner margin, I (Bill Oehlke) feel the above specimen is more likely Manduca diffissa diffissa.
