DISTRIBUTION:

Sphinx lugens flies in
Mexico, the specimen type locality and
Honduras ?? and
Nicaragua: Managua.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Sphinx lugens adults probably fly as a single brood from July-September.

ECLOSION:

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

SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Under natural conditions larvae feed exclusively on the leaves of the shrub Wigandia urens (Ruiz & Pavón) of the Hydrophyllaceae family. There are two types of leaves of W. urens:
"a) smooth leaves without urticant trichomes and lower concentrations of N, P and water, and
b) bristly leaves with urticant trichomes and higher concentrations of N, P and water.

Third instar larvae of S. lugens were fed experimentally with these two types of leaves of W. urens to know the effect of trichomes and nutritional quality on the development of this insect. Larvae treated with bristly leaves had a higher fresh weight from 11 to 21 days, and from 27 to 33 days than those treated with smooth leaves.

Fourth instar duration was shorter in larvae fed with bristly leaves. However, larvae weights in the fourth, fifth instars and prepupa were similar. Differences found in the growth and development of S. lugens can be correlated with higher concentrations of N, P and water of bristly leaves. "

Larvae are also reported to feed on Andromeda in the Ericaceae family, Forestiera pubescens in the Oleaceae family, and Salvia azurea and Salvia lanceolata in the Labiatae family.

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