Pachygonidia drucei

Pachygonidia drucei 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: Pachygonidia Fletcher, 1982 ........... Species: drucei Rothschild & Jordan, 1903

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DISTRIBUTION:

Pachygonidia drucei, (wingspan: 72-82mm, males smaller than females), flies in Panama and Costa Rica and north to Mexico and Belize.

FLIGHT TIMES:

There are probably several flights throughout the year.

ECLOSION:

Larvae probably pupate in thin walled cocoons under leaf litter.

SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Pachygonidia drucei female, Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Mature larvae probably descend host to pupate amongst leaf litter. Larvae feed on Doliocarpus dentatus, Doliocarpus multiflorus and Tetracera hydrophila .

Larvae are long, thin and green in the early instars, with a long, straight tail/horn. Note the curly tail in later instars and tail-less final instar in the Dan Janzen images below.