DISTRIBUTION:

Manduca lefeburii (Wing span: 8.9 - 11.0 cm, females larger than males), flies in Bolivia (specimen type locality);
Venezuela;
and generally from Mexico and Belize to
Paraguay: Concepcion, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro, Canindeyu, Alto Parana, Caaguazu, Cordillera, Paraguari, Itapua (PS) and (probably/possibly Guaira, Central, Amambay and Caazapa); and
Brazil.

In Bolivia it has been taken in Santa Cruz: Warnes; and Ipati (1000m), Department of Santa Cruz.

In Central America it is reported in
Belize: Cayo;
Nicaragua: Rio San Juan;
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Puntarenas, Alajuela, Heredia, San Jose.

The moth is named for M. Lefébure de Cerisy.

Manduca lefeburii, Paraguay, PYBIO

Manduca lefeburii, Brasil, Poté, Minas Gerais, November 11, 2004, courtesy of Frederik Goussey.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Manduca lefeburii adults fly as at least two broods in Costa Rica with most adults on the wing with the onset of the rainy season in May to June; a second flight (much smaller) seems to follow August through December.

In Bolivia they have been observed in October-December.

Manduca lefeburii male, courtesy of Hubert Mayer, id by Jean Haxaire

ECLOSION:

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

Manduca lefeburii male courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Manduca lefeburii 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 Casearia arguta, Casearia sylvestris and Casearia corymbosa of the Flacourtiaceae family.

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

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