Cautethia grotei grotei

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: Macroglossini, Harris, 1839 Genus: Cautethia Grote, 1865 ........... Species: grotei grotei H. Edwards, 1882

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DISTRIBUTION:

Grote's Sphinx, Cautethia grotei grotei, [wingspan: 1 1/8 - 1 9/16 inches (2.8 - 4 cm)], flies at dusk in Florida (specimen type locality), Cuba, the Bahamas, Cayman Isands and possibly Hispaniola and Jamaica. It has been known to range farther north to Tennessee, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and even New Hampshire.

The upperside of the forewing is pale silvery gray with black markings; in some moths the wing base may be very dark. The upperside of the hindwing is deep yellow-orange with a black border that covers less than half the wing.

Cautethia apisa Jordan, 1940 is a synonym for Cautethia grotei grotei.

The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

Some of the early describers/namers chose genus and species names indicating some character of the insect, but more often, they simply chose names from Greek or Roman mythology or history.

Those species names which end in "ensis" indicate a specimen locale, and those which end in "i", pronounced "eye", honour a contempory friend/collector/etc.

I have no idea about the origin of "Cautethia" and am not at all sure of its pronunciation.

The species name "grotei" is honourific for Augustus Radcliffe Grote.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Cautethia grotei grotei adults fly as multiple broods in Florida and nectar at flowers, including Asystasia gangetica, beginning at dusk.

ECLOSION:

Pupae probably wiggle to surface from subterranean chambers just prior to eclosion.

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 David's milkberry/snowberry (Chiococca alba) in the madder family (Rubiaceae) and have also been found on black torch (Erithalis fruiticosa) and Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus).

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