Enyo ocypete female 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: Enyo Hubner, [1819] ........... Species: ocypete (Linnaeus, 1758)

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DISTRIBUTION:

Enyo ocypete (wingspan approx. 60 mm) flies from the southern United States through Central America to Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia: "Santa Cruz: Andrés Ibáñez; Ichilo, Buena Vista; La Víbora; Florida, Pampa Grande; La Paz: Larecaja, San Agustín, Mapiri, 3500'; Guanay, Mapiri R. 1500'; Santa Cruz: Ichilo, Buena Vista, 750m; Sarah, 450m; German Busch, Puerto Suárez, 150m; Ichilo, Buena Vista." Jean Haxaire. It also flies throughout Paraguay and in northeastern Argentina.

Enyo ocypete is very similar to E. lugabris, but ocypete seems to have a lighter, more deeply scalloped area just below the forewing apex. Sphinx camertus Cramer, 1780, Surinam, is same as Enyo ocypete. Sphinx dunam Cramer, 1780, Surinam, is same as Enyo ocypete. Enyo ocypete, September 6, 2002 - 9:35 PM, courtesy of Steve Graser.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Enyo ocypete broods continuously in the tropics, south Florida, and Louisiana. Moths are on the wing from August-November in more northern locales. In Bolivia, it has been recorded in January-April, August, October-December.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae formed in loose cocoons in shallow underground burrows.

Enyo ocypete male courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Enyo ocypete, Yacutinga Private Reserve, Misiones Province,
(near border between Argentina and Brazil), February
courtesy/copyright of Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the abdomen. Both males and females nectar at flowers during the day, making a strong whirring sound as they hover.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae probably feed on Vitus tiliifolia and other members of the Vitaceae family: Vitis, Cissus rhombifolia, Ampelopsis. Tetracera volubilis, Curatella americana, Tetracera hydrophila and Doliocarpus multiflorus of the Dilleniaceae family also serves as a hosts, as does Ludwigia of the Onagraceae.

The "horn" is very long in early instars and head is relatively large. As the larva matures, the body develops rapidly, leaving the head relatively small and the "horn" relatively short. Mature larvae show considerable variation with one morph being quite pink.

Enyo ocypete larvae courtesy of Dan Janzen.

The pupa is dark and smooth with a sharp cremaster. Moths emerge in as few as fourteen days from pupation date.

Larvae may be parasitized by Belvosia sp. of the Tachinidae family and by Euplectrus floryae of the Eulophidae family.

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