Updated as per The Known Sphingidae of Costa Rica, November 2007
Updated as per personal communication with Jose Monzon (Guatemala); May 2009

Pachygonidia subhamata

Pachygonidia subhamata 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: subhamata Walker, 1856

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DISTRIBUTION:

Pachygonidia subhamata, (wingspan: 62-75mm, males smaller than females), flies in Brazil, Venezuela MEC, Ecuador HK, probably Colombia WO (no file yet), and possibly other South American countries, and north through Central America: Panama WO, Costa Rica DJ, Nicaragua WO, Honduras WO, Guatemala (JM), El Salvador WO, to Mexico MBL, and Belize JM.

FLIGHT TIMES:

There are probably several flights throughout the year. Horst Kach sent me this image of Pachygonidia subhamata (bottom right) from Los Bancos, Pichincha Province, Ecuador, along with three specimens of the very rare Pachygonidia odile (one female top left), all captured between November and April, 2003 and 2004.

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 subhamata female, Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Mature larvae probably descend host to pupate amongst leaf litter. Larvae feed on Vitis tiliifolia . Images courtesy of Dan Janzen.

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