Genus Erinnyis Rank Species | ||
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Similar Erinnyis, Erinnyis obscura, Erinnyis alope, Agrius cingulata, Dilophonotini | ||
Erinnyis ello
Erinnyis ello, commonly known as the "ello sphinx", is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is distributed from Argentina through Central America to the United States as far north as Nevada.
Contents
The wingspan is 75–85 mm. The abdomen has gray and black bands. The forewing upperside of the female is pale gray with a few dark dots near the outer margin, while the forewing upperside of the male is dark gray and brown with a black band running from the base to the tip. In both sexes, the hindwing upperside is orange with a wide black border.
Adults are on wing year round in the tropics and southern Florida. Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including common soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) and Chinese violet (Asystasia gangetica).
The larva feeds on a variety of host plants, including papaya (Carica papaya) in the family Caricaceae, poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), Cnidoscolus urens and cassava (Manihot esculenta) in the Euphorbiaceae, guavas (Psidium spp.) in the Myrtaceae, and saffron plum (Sideroxylon celastrinum) in the Sapotaceae.
