Aellopos tantalus, known as the Tantalus sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in Florida, the Antilles, from Mexico to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Suriname, and in the Amazon basin.
| Tantalus sphinx | |
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| Male dorsal | |
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| Male venral | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Sphingidae |
| Genus: | Aellopos |
| Species: | A. tantalus
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| Binomial name | |
| Aellopos tantalus | |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 45–57 millimetres (1.8–2.2 in). Adults are on wing year-round. The adults feed on nectar of various flowers, including Eugenia axillaris, Draceana fragrans and Ernodea littoralis.
The larvae feed on Rubiaceae species, including Casasia clusiifolia and Randia aculeata. Pupation takes place in loose cocoons in shallow underground chambers or in leaf litter.[2]
Subspecies
edit- Aellopos tantalus tantalus
- Aellopos tantalus zonata (Drury, 1773) (St. Kitts and Mexico)
References
edit- ^ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
External links
edit- "Aellopos tantalus (Linnaeus 1758)". Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles.
- "Tantalus sphinx Aellopos tantalus (Linnaeus, 1758)". Butterflies and Moths of North America.
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