DISTRIBUTION:

Hyles euphorbiarum flies in Chile;
Argentina: Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Corrientes, Chubut, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Salta, San Luis, Tierra del Fuego, Tucuman;
Falklands;
Uruguay;
Paraguay: Boqueron, Presidente Hayes; and
southern Brazil.

Hyles euphorbiarum, male and female, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Hyles euphorbiarum adults fly in March, July, September, November, and probably throughout the year.

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 AND PUPAE:

Larvae feed on plants from the following families: Euphorbiaceae ??, Fabaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Onagraceae, Polygonaceae, Portulaceae and Solanaceae.

Nigel Venters indicates the female, depicted at the top of the page, deposited a total of 859 eggs between 26th of Nov to 10th December.

Nigel writes, "It was (in my view) not at all common, as I ran a Mercury vapour light every night for a month and this was the only specimen I saw. (plenty of other species though!).

"Contrary to its name, it does not take Euphorbia as a hostplant. I tried many different species of hostplant and finally got the larvae to feed on Fuchsia.

"The first instar larvae are bright green, and so far (I only have them into the second instar) the 2nd instar larvae are black with very small yellow markings, which I guess will become more apparent as time passes. As for flight period, I would suggest November to March as the flight period, (looking at records at the local museum in Cordoba)."

Hyles euphorbiarum third instar, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

Hyles euphorbiarum fourth instar, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

Hyles euphorbiarum fifth instar, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

Hyles euphorbiarum fifth instar, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

Nigel adds regarding larval hosts, "The answer is that although this species seems a little fussy during its first instar, and the female laid very well on Fuchsia (850 plus ova), but from the second instar onwards, the larvae seem to accept almost anything green. Favourites are still Fuchsia, Plantago, and Galium, however I must now add Lonicera and Symphoriacarpos (both Caprifoliacea) as these are also accepted without hesitation. I do hope to have enough pupae to send to all interested parties that would like some in this email sometime in early January."

Hyles euphorbiarum pupae, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

Nigel writes, "I force fed the female, using a peg rig that I designed. (This holds a butterfly or moth in place, while you extend the tongue into a bottle cap filled with honey water). I fed her twice a day. (I did not bother to wait for dawn or dusk as this made no difference to her ability, or desire to feed.) She laid a total of 859 ova. I used a fairly small flight cage, and a potted Fuchsia plant.

Visit Force Feeding explanation/images, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

Here is the data for laying:
26/11/07 (I ova)
27/11/07 (7 ova)
28/11/07 (29 ova)
29/11/07 (46 ova)
30/11/07 (135 ova)
01/12/07 (52 ova)
02/12/07 (32 ova)
03/12/07 (44 ova)
04/12/07 (37 ova)
05/12/07 (78 ova)
06/12/07 (215 ova)
07/12/07 (112 ova)
08/12/07 (52 ova)
09/12/07 (11 ova)
10/12/07

I let the female go, she was still alive and although tattered, quite healthy! A total of 869 ova.

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