Aellopos ceculus, Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
February 3, 2019, courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti.

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TAXONOMY: Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 Subfamily: Macroglossinae, Harris, 1839 Tribe: Dilophonotini, Burmeister, 1878 Genus: Aellopos Hubner, [1819] ........... Species: ceculus Cramer, 1777

Aellopos ceculus (verso), Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
February 3, 2019, courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti.

Notice how the angle of the photo makes the antennae seem shorter and stouter in the next two images. Photographic images can be deceptive when taken at angles other than at ninety degrees to the line of the body and wings, yet such photos are very important as they often reveal features not apparent in the traditional pose of a spread specimen.

Aellopos ceculus (verso), Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
February 3, 2019, courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti.

Aellopos ceculus (verso), Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
February 3, 2019, courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti.

Aellopos ceculus (verso), Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
February 3, 2019, courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti.

Aellopos ceculus (verso), Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
February 3, 2019, courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti.

Notice what the camera angle does to the shape of the forewing outer margins in the image immediately above. Many thanks to Joao Amarildo Ranguetti for these beautiful images of a lovely moth in its natural setting, just as we might encounter it along our own walks and in our gardens.

Aellopos ceculus 49mm, Alto Madre de Dios, San Pedro, Cusco, Peru,
November, 2007, 4500ft, courtesy of Anna & Frank West.

Aellopos ceculus 53mm, Frenza Rancho Grande, Rondonia Brasil,
November, 1995, courtesy of Anna & Frank West.

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