DISTRIBUTION:

The Adhemarius ypsilon moth (wingspan: males: 89-117; females: 107-126mm) flies in
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Puntarenas, San Jose, Alajuela, Carthage, Lemon, Heredia.

Specimens have also been taken in
México;
Belize: Orange Walk, Cayo;
Nicaragua: Madriz, Jinotega, Matagalpa, Granada, Zalayas, Rio San Juan;
Venezuela;
French Guiana **;
Ecuador;
Perú and
Bolivia: La Paz (750m).

Eitschberger, 2002, divided this species into ypsilon and roessleri ** with the latter flying from northern Peru eastward to French Guiana. The Hubert Mayer image below is probably Adhemarius roessleri.

Adhemarius ypsilon male (probably roessleri) courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adhemarius ypsilon adults are taken at lights every month of the year in Costa Rica. Adhemarius ypsilon larvae feed upon Ocotea veraguensis, Ocotea atirrensis, Ocotea sarah and Ocotea dendrodaphne.

Adhemarius ypsilon female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Adhemarius ypsilon dark form courtesy of Steve Graser, Ecuador.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adhemarius ypsilon female courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Color morphs of larva courtesy of Dan Janzen:

Adhemarius ypsilon yellow morph.

Development from pupation to adult emergence is less than three weeks (sixteen to eighteen days). The pupa is dark chestnut, smooth and shiny. I suspect the larvae will pupate in dark buckets under layers of paper towels as opposed to more natural (shallow) underground pupation.

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.

Ocotea atirrensis Ocotea dendrodaphne....... Ocotea sarah Ocotea veraguensis

Ocotea atirrensis Ocotea dendrodaphne Ocotea sarah Ocotea veraguensis

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