Aellopos ceculus 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: Aellopos Hubner, [1819] ........... Species: ceculus Cramer, 1777

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DISTRIBUTION:

Aellopos ceculus (wingspan 42-47 mm; females larger than males) moths fly in
Surinam; with records from
Mexico;
Belize: Stann Creek;
probably Guatemala;
probably Honduras;
probably Nicaragua: Zelaya, Rivas, probably Rio San Juan;
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Alajuela, San Jose, Lemon, Puntarenas, Heredia, Carthage;
probably Panama: Panama, Darien;
Colombia;
Ecuador: Napo, Morona-Santiago;
Peru;
Bolivia: La Paz;
Argentina rare;
Venezuela;
Guyana;
Surinam;
French Guiana;
Brazil: Mato Grosso.

The adults fly in the evening from 5:30-7:00 pm and again in the morning from 6:30-9:00 am.

FLIGHT TIMES:

In Costa Rica moths have been taken on the wing in every month of the year. There are probably three main broods: December-January, April-May and September.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae just under leaf litter or from subterranean chambers.

Aellopos ceculus 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 various species of the Rubiaceae family.

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