Xylophanes titana

Xylophanes titana is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by Herbert Druce in 1878.

Xylophanes titana
Upperside
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Xylophanes
Species:	X. titana
Binomial name
Xylophanes titana (H. Druce, 1878)[1]
Synonyms
Choerocampa titana H. Druce, 1878

Distribution

It is known from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Venezuela, French Guiana, Brazil and probably Guyana and Suriname.[2]

Description

The wingspan is 60–88 mm. It is similar to Xylophanes eumedon. The tegula has a golden medial line. The upperside of the abdomen has two narrow, pale lines, divided medially by a sharp, broad olive-green or brown line of much greater width. The two pale lines merge into a single median line on the prothorax. The forewing underside has an apical area on the costa of the same pale yellow colour as the area between the second and fourth postmedian lines. The median band of the hindwing upperside has distinct pale yellow spots and smaller apical spots often reduced in size and suffused with black.

• 
  Female
• 
  Female underside
• 
  Male
• 
  Male underside

Biology

There are probably at least two generations per year. In Costa Rica, adults have been recorded in every month except March. In Brazil, adults have been recorded in December.

The larvae feed on Rubiaceae species and have been recorded on Manettia reclinata in Costa Rica.

References

1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
2. Oehlke, Bill (December 17, 2009). "Xylophanes titana (Druce, 1878) Choerocampa". Sphingidae of the Americas. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.