Sphinx merops merops male 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: Sphinginae, Latreille, 1802 Tribe: Sphingini, Latreille, 1802 Genus: Sphinx Linnaeus, 1758 ........... Species: merops merops Boisduval, 1870

MIDI MUSIC .....It's a Wonderful World..... copyright C. Odenkirk ON.OFF <bgsound src="world.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Sphinx merops merops (wingspan: 103-122 mm, females larger than males), flies in
Honduras (specimen type locality) and from western S. America, including Venezuela, to
Mexico;
Belize: Cayo;
Nicaragua: Jinotega, Matagalpa, Masaya, Granada, Isla de Ometepe, Rio San Juan;
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, San Jose, Alajuela, Lemon, Puntarenas, Heredia, Carthage.

Sphinx merops pair, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Sphinx merops merops adults fly in Costa Rica from April until January.

ECLOSION:

Pupae probably 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 pollinate orchids.

Sphinx merops merops female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larval hosts are Lantana camara and probably other members of the Verbenaceae family. The third instar has a dermal crest and yellow eye-spots on sides; there are 2 black eye-spots on last two instars.

The pupa has a long flat tongue case. Moths emerge about fifty days after pupation, but some which pupate in July, emerge in November.

Larvae are subject to parasitization by Belvosia sp. 6 of the Tachinidae family.

Return to Sphingidae Index
Return to Sphingini Tribe