Morcocytius mortuorum
AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE SPHINGIDAE OF BOLIVIA, October 2007
Updated as per CATE (description; southeastern Brazil; northwestern Argentina); February 12, 2011
Updated as per French Guiana Sphingidae; March 9, 2011
Updated as per CATE Sphingidae, April 22, 2011
Updated as per personal communication with Jose Ramon Alvarez Corral; May 27, 2012; ongoing

Morcocytius mortuorum
moor-koh-SIT-ee-usmm mor-chew-OR-um
Rothschild and Jordan, 1910

Morcocytius mortuorum male, Peru, courtesy of Jean Haxaire

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: Cocytius Hubner, [1819] ...........
Species: mortuorum Rothschild and Jordan, 1910

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DISTRIBUTION:

Morcocytius mortuorum [(Wing span: approximately 130-140mm, males smaller than females)], flies in
Brazil;
Panama;
Colombia;
Ecuador;
Peru;
and Bolivia: La Paz: Murillo, Río Zongo, 750m; and
French Guiana: SGO.

I suspect it also flies in Venezuela Amazonas (JRAC), Guyana and Suriname.

This moth will most often appear in reference work as Cocytius mortuorum until the new designation as the single species in the Morcocytius genus designation becomes more wiedely known.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Morcocytius mortuorum adults nectar at flowers and probably brood continuously. Specimens are reported from October and November in Peru. There are reports from French Guiana for March and April.

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.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae probably feed on Guatteria diospyroides, Annona purpurea, Annona reticulata, Xylopia frutescens and Custard apple (Annona glabra) and probably other members of the Annonaceae family.

Moths emerge from pupae in as few as 21 days from pupation.

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