Adhemarius palmeri
Updated as per More, Kitching and Cocucci's Hawkmoths of Argentina 2005, October, 2007
Updated as per All Leps Barcode of Life, October 2007
Updated as per AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE SPHINGIDAE OF BOLIVIA, October 2007
Updated as per Fauna Entomologica De Nicarauga, November 2007
Updated as per The Known Sphingidae of Costa Rica, November 2007
Updated as per Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) de Venezuela, Compilado por: Maria Esperanza Chacon; December 2009
Updated as per personal communication with Jonathan Agius (image) and Dave Rolfe (suggestion) (form flavellus, (Gehlen, 1926), as per Hawkmoths of the World, Kitching and Cadiou) September 30, 2010
Updated as per French Guiana Sphingidae; March 9, 2011
Updated as per personal communication with Hubert Mayer (Rio Hollin, Napo, Ecuador, December; Espirito Santo, Brazil); August 9, 2011
Updated as per personal communication with Ezequiel Bustos (Shilap revta. lepid. 43 (172) diciembre, 2015, 615-631 eISSN 2340-4078 ISSN 0300-5267), January 4, 2016
Updated as per personal communication with Joao Amarildo Ranguetti (Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil, January 12, 2015); December 4, 2016
Updated as per personal communication with Janeth Coutinho (Guabiruba, Santa Catarina, Brazil, December 14, 2016); December 16, 2016
Updated as per personal communication with Regina Lepage (Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 4, 2017); April 6, 2017
Updated as per Hawk-moths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) of Trinidad, West Indies: an illustrated and annotated list; Matthew J.W. Cock; March 31, 2022

Adhemarius palmeri
ad-heh-MAHRR-ee-usMPAHL-mer-eye
(Boisduval, [1875]) Amplypterus

Adhemarius palmeri male courtesy of Dan Janzen.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Sphingoidea, Dyar, 1902
Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802
Subfamily: Sphinginae, Latreille, 1802
Tribe: Smerinthini, Grote & Robinson, 1865
Genus: Adhemarius, Oiticica, 1939
Species: palmeri, (Boisduval, [1875])

DISTRIBUTION:

Adhemarius palmeri (wingspan: 99-124 mm; males smaller than females) flies from
Costa Rica; to
French Guiana: Kaw; and probably into most of South America, including Argentina.

Adhemarius palmeri, Argentina, courtesy of Fernando Penco,
from the collection of Leo Aguado.

There are reports from
Colombia;
Venezuela: Aragua, Bolivar, Carabobo, Miranda, Monagas, Tachira, Zulia;
Trinidad (MJWC;
French Guiana: Kaw;
Ecuador: (Napo: Rio Hollin (HM));
Bolivia: Santa Cruz (December), La Paz (750m);
Brazil: Minas Gerais (FG); Espirito Santo (HM); Sao Paulo (RL); Santa Catarina: Massaranduba (JAR) and Guabiruba (JC);
Argentina: Misiones, Chaco (EB) and
possibly Paraguay: Paraguay: (Itapua (WO?)). I expect it also flies in Peru, but I have no confirmation of that.

It has also been reported in Central America:
southern Nicaragua: Rio San Juan;
Costa Rica: Lemon, Heredia; and
probably also flies in Panama.

Adhemarius palmeri form flavellus (Gehlen, 1926)
French Guiana, courtesy of Jonathan Agius

Originally thought to be an aberration by Gehlen, the form flavellus originates from same parentage as those A. palmeri with red hindwings.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adhemarius palmeri probably broods continuously, with records indicating the moth is on the wing from March - July and again in October.

In Bolivia there is a record for December. Hubert Mayer reports a December flight in Ecuador. In Minas Gerais, Brasil, there is a record for November. Joao Amarildo Ranguetti reports a January flight in Masaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil; Janeth Coutinho reports a December flight in Guabiruba, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Regina lepage confrims and early April flight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Adhemarius palmeri male, Rio Hollin, Napo, Ecuador,
December 17, 1998, courtesy/copyright of Hubert Mayer.

Adhemarius palmeri female, Espirito Santo, Santa Leopoldino, Alto Tirol, Brazil,
February 10, 1998, courtesy/copyright of Hubert Mayer.

Adhemarius palmeri, Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
January 12, 2015, courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti.

Adhemarius palmeri, Guabiruba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
December 14, 2016, courtesy of Janeth Coutinho.

Adhemarius palmeri, Sertao do Uno San Sebastio, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
April 4, 2017, courtesy of Regina Lepage.

Adhemarius palmeri larvae probably feed upon Ocotea veraguensis, Ocotea atirrensis and Ocotea dendrodaphne.

Adhemarius palmeri male underside, Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adhemarius palmeri, Brasil, Pot�, Minas Gerais, November 11, 2004,
courtesy of Frederik Goussey.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

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.

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