DISTRIBUTION:

Adhemarius daphne daphne (approximate wingspan: 104-111-115mm (FW) flies in
Brazil: Minas Gerais; Rio de Janeiro ( probably type location; CM & DL); Roraima; Rio Grande do Sul; Rondonia (FW); and probably throughout most of Brazil and in
Venezuela;
Trinidad;
Colombia: Cundinamarca; Magdalena (RB)
eastern and western Ecuador: Esmeraldas; Morona Santiago (VK);
Peru: Amazonas; Lambayeque (CICdlC)
French Guiana: Kaw;
Bolivia: Beni;
Argentina Misiones Province (Yacutinga Private Reserve, near border with Brazil and Paraguay); Tucuman (JRR); (Corrientes, Formosa, Jujuy, Salta, Chaco, Dpto. Almirante Brown, R�o Muerto, 22-XI-1983, (EB))
Paraguay: Itapua; Neembucu (AOC); Guaira; Canindeyu.

Adhemarius daphne, 115mm, Rancho Grande, Rondonia, Brasil,
August, 1993, courtesy of Anna and Frank West.

Adhemarius daphne, 105mm, Alto Madre de Dios, San Pedro, Cusco, Peru,
November, 2009, 4500ft., courtesy of Anna and Frank West.

Jean Haxaire (2019) has confirmed that Adhemarius daphne interrupta replaces nominate daphne in North and Central America. Subspecies cubanus is probably valid for the specimens from Cuba. "Host plants: A. daphne interrupta (Closs, 1915) has been reared in Costa Rica on Ocotea sp., Nectandra sp., Persea sp., Cinnamomum sp., and Licaria sp. (all Lauraceae)."

Jean, 2019, writes, "The limit between the two populations (nominate daphne and daphne interrupta) is unclear. I have collected in North Venezuela, Carabobo, two males of daphne interrupta. The true daphne daphne is in the amazonian forest, and in all the south of south America."

Jose Monzon reports it as far north as Guatemala: Izabal, and this would now be considered A. daphne interrupta.

CATE, in older reports had it in Mexico: Quintana Roo (BT); Costa Rica, but that would be for daphne interrupta. which I suspect flies throughout Central America (confirmed in Panama (LM)). I am pretty sure nominate daphne flies in Guyana; and has been confirmed in Suriname: Brokopondo District: Brownsberg (JvB).

Those specimens from Costa Rica and Mexico and the rest of Central America would be better classified as A. daphne interrupta, and those specimens from Cuba as A. daphne cubanus???

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Brownsberg, National Park, Brokopondo District, Suriname,
July 8, 2011, courtesy of Johan van't Bosch.

Adhemarius daphne interrupta, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, courtesy of Ben Trott.

Adhemarius daphne interrupta, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, courtesy of Ben Trott.

Adhemarius daphne interrupta, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, courtesy of Ben Trott.

Ben Trott confirms the presence in Mexico (this would be subspecies interrupta) with images from Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. Previously those specimens in Mexico had been associated with Adhemarius gannascus. In A. daphne the dark basal patch does not extend onto the costa as it does in A. gannascus.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Yacutinga Private Reserve, Misiones Province,
(near border between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil), September 2007,
courtesy of Ezequiel Osvaldo N��ez Bustos.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru,
March 18, 2019, courtesy of Cesar Ivan Caballero de la Cruz.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru,
March 18, 2019, courtesy of Cesar Ivan Caballero de la Cruz.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru,
different specimen and date, courtesy of Cesar Ivan Caballero de la Cruz.

"This species is frequently confused with A. gannascus. However, the two species are easily separated by the shape of the subapical mark on the forewing costa (Haxaire, 1986). In A. gannascus, this mark is a narrow, comma-shaped lunule, whereas in A. daphne, it is much broader. Haxaire & Herbin (2000) recorded this species from Yocumo [Yacuma] (350m), Department of Beni."

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Itapua, Paraguay, courtesy of Regis Nossent/Fauna Paraguay.

The antemedial line does not extend into the costa in A. daphne. In Kitching and Cadiou 2000, A. daphne is treated as a synonym of A. gannascus. I believe Jean Haxaire has recently elevated it to full species status. The moth to the right from Puerto Iguazu, Misiones Province, Argentina, courtesy of Oz Rittner, has been confirmed by Jean Haxaire as A. daphne daphne.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adhemarius daphne probably produces at least two broods annually.

In Brazil it has been recorded in March and November. Rodrigo Torres Nunez reports a December 14, 2010, flight in Cundinamarca, Colombia. Johan van't Bosch reports a July flight in Suriname. Brian Flethcher reports an October flight in Amazonas, Peru.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Eldorado, Santa Marta Mountains, Magdalena, Colombia,
courtesy of Robert Behrstock, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Eldorado, Santa Marta Mountains, Magdalena, Colombia,
courtesy of Robert Behrstock, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Adhemarius daphne daphne larval hosts are unknown to me.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Cundinamarca, Colombia,
111mm, December 14, 2010, courtesy of Rodrigo Torres Nunez.

Adhemarius daphne daphne (verso), Cundinamarca, Colombia,
111mm, December 14, 2010, courtesy of Rodrigo Torres Nunez.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adhemarius daphne daphne in copula, Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru,
May 31, 2019 courtesy of Cesar Ivan Caballero de la Cruz.

Adhemarius daphne daphne, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
March 22, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

Visit additional Adhemarius daphne daphne images, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, March 22, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

Visit additional Adhemarius daphne daphne images, Esmeraldas and Morona Santiago, Ecuador, courtesy of Vadim Kroutov.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Ben Trott sends the Adhemarius daphne interrupta larval images from Quintana Roo, Mexico. He writes, "Found on a shrub belonging to the Lauraceae family, very well camouflaged with its blue green morph and spots." The images were originally thought to be A. gannascus, but the emergence of the subsequent adult revealed them as Adhemarius daphne larval images. The adult from the larva is posted above.

Adhemarius daphne interrupta? fifth instar, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

Adhemarius daphne interrupta? fifth instar, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Lauraceae (BT) .......

Lauraceae

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Adhemarius daphne daphne verso, courtesy of Vadim Kroutov.

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Adhemarius daphne daphne, Abra Patricia Reserve, Amazonas, Peru,
October 10, 2009; 2000m, courtesy of Brian Fletcher.

50) l Adhemarius gannascus (Stoll, 1790) Type locality: America, Surinam. General distribution: Southern Mexico (Veracruz) to Argentina. Distribution in Brazil: Most of the records in the literature mix M. gannascus and M. daphne (Boisduval, 1875), so that, distribution data may be inaccurate. Examined specimens of A. gannascus in different collections suggests a widely spread species in Brazil. Habitat: Forested and disturbed areas. Host plants: Various Lauraceae, mostly Ocotea sp. and Persea sp. Remarks: The diagnostic characters to separate A. gannascus from A. daphne is the greyish color in the former, instead of grey-brownish in the latter and the shape of the subapical black mark, narrow and crescent-like in A. gannascus, twice larger in A. daphne. In addition, the basal dark line of the forewing generally reaches the costa in A. gannascus, while it stops just before the costa in A. daphne. For more information, see Haxaire & Vaglia (2005). 52) l Adhemarius roessleri Eitschberger, 2002 Type locality: Peru, Amazonas, Bagua Chica. General distribution: Venezuela, French Guiana, Northern Brazil, Peru and Ecuador (Amazonian region). Distribution in Brazil: Few specimens are known from Brazil. One female mentioned in Moss (1920: 372) and one male from the same collector deposited in NHMUK, both 124 The European Entomologist, Vol. 11, No 3+4 from Par�. Another specimen was mentioned for the Marac� Island, Roraima (Motta et al. 1991). In the ZSM, the first author has located a male from Amap�, Rio Araguari, Serra do Navio, 100m, 14-21.XI.1959, H. Ebert leg. It is expected to be present in other Brazilian states in the Amazon region. Habitat: Tropical rainforest. Host plants: Unknown, as the early stages. Due to its similarity with Adhemarius ypsilon Rothschild & Jordan 1903, it is expected to feed on Lauraceae. Remarks: An Amazonian species confused with A. ypsilon (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903) in most of the recent works and even in the original description (two of the paratypes males are A. ypsilon). 53) l Adhemarius palmeri (Boisduval, [1875]) Type locality: Brazil. General distribution: Costa Rica to Argentina. Distribution in Brazil: Widespread throughout Brazil from Amap� to Rio Grande do Sul. Habitat: Forested area. Host plants: Unknown, as the early stages. Remarks: A. palmeri brasiliensis Clark, 1916, described based on two males from Rio de Janeiro are just ecological forms. Clark (1919: 100) himself recognized three years later that his subspecies was a synonymy. In populations from Northern Bolivia, the brownish-grey ground color tends to be whitish-grey. 54) l Adhemarius eurysthenes (C. & R. Felder, 1874) Type locality: Colombia (see remarks). General distribution: Typical from Central, Southeastern and Southern Brazil, also recorded from Paraguay (Drechsel 1994: 270) and one possible specimen from Bolivia (Kitching et al. 2001). Distribution in Brazil: Minas Gerais, Esp�rito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, S�o Paulo, Santa Catarina, and Paran�, more occasional in the peripheral areas, but also found in Rio Grande do Sul. Habitat: Forested area. Host plants: Unknown, as the early stages. Remarks: The type locality is unclear, supposed to be Colombia (likely mislabelled). In the mentioned states, especially in Paran� and Santa Catarina, the species is frequently present in light traps. 55) l Adhemarius gagarini (Zik�n, 1935) Type locality: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. General distribution: Venezuela, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Southeastern and Southern Brazil and Bolivia (Haxaire & Herbin 2000). Distribution in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, S�o Paulo, Paran�, and Santa Catarina. Habitat: Forested area. The European Entomologist, Vol. 11, No 3+4 125 Host plants: Unknown, as the early stages. Remarks: The description of the species was based on three males from Independ�ncia, Petr�polis, Rio de Janeiro, collected by Prince Paulo Gagarin. The holotype was examined by the first author in the CEIOC. Easily separated from A. gannascus (Haxaire 1986) and closer to A. daphne, from which it can be separated by the black basal line of the forewing being generally larger and straighter, not reaching the costa. The intraspecific variation is low, compared to A. gannascus. Genus ORECTA