Manduca sexta paphus
Updated as per AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE SPHINGIDAE OF BOLIVIA, October 2007
Updated as per personal communication with Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos, Argentina, March 2008
Updated as per personal communication with Ezequiel Bustos (Aguas Blancas, Salta, Argentina, 405m); December 2009
Updated as per personal communication with Ezequiel Nunez Bustos (Osununu Private Reserve, Misiones, Argentina, November 24, 2009); December 2009
Updated as per French Guiana Sphingidae; March 9, 2011
Updated as per CATE Sphingidae (Entre Rios, Argentina; Parana, Brazil); May 21, 2011

Manduca sexta paphus
(Cramer, 1779) Sphinx

Manduca sexta paphus by John Vriesi.

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: Manduca Hubner, [1807] ...........
Species: sexta paphus (Cramer, 1779)

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DISTRIBUTION:

Manduca sexta paphus (approx. wingspan: Males: 110mm; females: 117mm) flies from
Surinam (specimen type locality);
French Guiana: Kaw; SGO, Ant. Mont. Maripas; and
Venezuela to
Brazil: Parana;
Argentina: Salta, Misiones, Entre Rios (possibly Cordoba); and
Bolivia: Santa Cruz, Ichilo, Buena Vista, Florida, Pampa Grande and La Víbora (450m). I suspect it also flies in Suriname and Guyana.

"Differs from Manduca sexta sexta in that the forewing upperside white, submarginal band is less prominent, the white bands of the hindwing upperside are purer white; the ground colour of the forewing is variable, but may be as pale as in Manduca sexta caestri." CATE

Manduca sexta paphus, Yacutinga Private Reserve, Misiones Province,
(near border between Argentina and Brazil), February, 2008
courtesy/copyright of Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos.

Manduca sexta paphus, Osununu Private Reserve, Misiones Province,
November 24, 2009
courtesy/copyright of Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Manduca sexta paphus adults from at least April to July in Venezuela. In Bolivia there are records for January, March-April, October-November. Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos reports November and February flights in Misiones, Argentina. In French Guiana moths have been reported in April and November.

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 probably take nectar from flowers.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae feed on tobacco leaves and are considered pests.

Manduca sexta subspecies from Rio Ceballos in Cordoba Province, Argentina,
courtesy of Nigel Venters.

The larva pictured above is from a relatively small Manduca species. Both Jean Marie Cadiou and Jean Haxaire indicate it is probably one of the Manduca sexta subspecies or a new species.

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