NYCERYX MAGNA

Nyceryx magna, male, Costa Rica, 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: Nyceryx Boisduval, [1875] ...........
Species: magna R. Felder, 1874

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DISTRIBUTION:

Nyceryx magna flies in Brazil, the specimen type locality, and in Costa Rica and Ecuador.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Moths are probably on the wing in just about every month.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose, usually within 23-32 days.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the abdomen.

Nyceryx magna, female, Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae feed on Pentagonia donnell-smithii.

Early instar larvae have very large heads and elongated tails. The head is a distinctive blue-green in the final instar and the tail is shorter and rough.

The pupa is smooth and shiny with alternating light and dark bands on the abdomen. Moths generally eclose within 23-32 days of pupation.

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