Manduca hannibal hannibal 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: Sphinginae, Latreille, [1802] Tribe: Sphingini, Latreille, 1802 Genus: Manduca Hubner, [1807] ........... Species: hannibal hannibal (Cramer, 1779)

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DISTRIBUTION: Manduca hannibal hannibal (Wing span: 9.9 - 11.4 cm, females larger than males), flies in Surinam (specimen type locality), and generally from Mexico; Belize: Cayo, Toledo; Nicaragua: Zelaya, Rio San Juan; Costa Rica: Guanacaste; Alajuela, Heredia, Lemon, Puntarenas, San Jose; to Venezuela; Ecuador: Orellana; Brazil; and Bolivia. Manduca hannibal hannibal in typical resting pose from Yasuni, Ecuador, September 11, 2002 - 2:00 AM, courtesy of Steve Graser.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Manduca hannibal hannibal adults fly as many broods and in Costa Rica adults are taken every month of the year except January and March. In Bolivia there are records for February, April, August, October and December. Both males and females come to lights.

ECLOSION:

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

Manduca hannibal hannibal 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. Adults take nectar from flowers.

Manduca hannibal female, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae feed on Aegiphila martinicensis of the Verbenaceae family.

Larvae are subject to parasitization by Microplitis espinachi of the Braconidae family.

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