Sphingidae: Philampelini:
Eumorpha of French Guiana

Eumorpha capronnieri, Camp Caiman, near Kaw, French Guiana,
April 29, 2011, courtesy of Andres Urbas.

Many thanks to Andres Urbas who has granted permission to post his images of live Sphingidae from French Guiana. From late March until late April, Andres has photographed several specimens of Eumorpha capronnieri and Eumorpha phorbas in the Kaw area of French Guiana.

Philampelini

Eumorpha fasciatus, the Banded Sphinx
Fw ground colour is dark brown with two broad, beige, intersecting transverse bands, one running from the apex to middle of fw-body juncture, the other running preapically to near midpoint of inner margin. Much thinner beige lines trace the veins in the post median area.

Eumorpha vitis the Vine Sphinx: Forewing is generally quite similar to fasciatus, but note much longer internal extension of the lowest thin beige post median line into the median area. In fasciatus, this lower thin line in the median area is only a very short dash before meeting the broad transverse lines. Vitis lacks the broad pink band, found in fasciatus, along the hindwing outer margin.

Eumorpha labruscae the Gaudy Sphinx: Fw ground colour bright green to grey-green with a darker triangular median area, delineated by very dark am line and dark median line. There is a brownish blotch near midpoint of outer line of darker triangular area, followed by a beige blotch along the inner margin.

Eumorpha phorbas: Fw ground colour grey-green with series of lighter grey-green bars, dashes, lines: aml runs straight from costa to i. m.; apical pml runs straight toward intersection of aml and i.m., but is broken at about 40% of its course by an L-shaped line that turns at about 135 degrees toward aml/im juncture.

Eumorpha capronnieri Fw ground colour grey to brown with distinct pattern of mottled green and darker brown areas. Forewing apex is slightly more produced and pointed in capronnieri, compared to phorbas. Note the outward extensions of dark green-brown stripes on abdominal tergites 5 and 6.

Eumorpha anchemolus: Fw o. m. slightly crenulated. Similar to Eumorpha triangulum, but fw upperside pattern less contrasting and variegated. Dark subapical costal patch truncated on Rs4. White fringe along i. m. from body to slightly beyond median rhombiform patch very conspicuous.

Eumorpha obliquus: Fw: more glossy grey than anchemolus; three straight oblique parallel lines present in basal area running straight from costal margin to CuP fold; discal spot absent; dark patch near tornus broader than in similar species, rounded triangular; fringe of posterior margin buff, less extensive than anchemolus.

Eumorpha megaeacus: Forewing has conspicuous, but ill-defined, pinkish-beige longitudinal band running mostly between CuA1 and CuA2 from wing base, subparallel to inner margin, to near outer margin. Below this band, to inner margin, appears a patchwork of patterns.

E. s. licaon v??

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