Cocytius duponchel from Rancho Grande, H. Pittier National Park, Venezuela
courtesy of Paolo Mazzei.

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Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

Cocytius duponchel female, Massaranduba, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
courtesy of Joao Amarildo Ranguetti, id by Jean Haxaire.

TAXONOMY: Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 Subfamily: Sphinginae, Latreille, [1802] Tribe: Sphingini, Latreille, 1802 Genus: Cocytius ........... Species: duponchel (Poey, 1832)

DISTRIBUTION:

Duponchel's Sphinx, Cocytius duponchel (Wing span: 4 5/16 - 5 7/8 inches (11 - 15 cm), males much smaller than females)], flies in tropical and subtropical lowlands in
Cuba, the specimen type locality; and generally from
southern Brazil: Rio de Janeiro (LC); Minas Gerais; Santa Catarina (JAR); Rio Grande do Sul (LFA); and
Bolivia: Santa Cruz;
Paraguay: San Pedro; Canindeyu;
Argentina: Tucuman; Misiones; Salta; north to
Venezuela: Amazonas, Apure, Aragua, Bolivar, Cojedes, Falcon, Guarico, Tachira, Yaracuy;
Suriname: Sipaliwini District: Stoelmanveiland;
French Guiana: Kaw;
probably ?? Guyana ??;
Colombia: Cauca: Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona (HCM); Meta: Villavicencio, 500m (GN); and
Ecuador: Yasuni; Napo (HM); Pichincha (HM)
Mexico;
Belize; Corozol, Cayo, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo;
Guatemala: Izabal (JM);
Honduras;
Nicaragua: Granada, Chontales, Zelaya, Rio San Juan;
Costa Rica: Puntarenas, Guanacaste, Alajuela, Lemon, Heredia, Carthage, San Jose; and the West Indies. It is rare in Florida and Texas.

Jean Haxaire confirms them in Dominican Republic: La Vega.

Cocytius duponchel, La Vega, Dominican Republic, courtesy of Jean Haxaire.

CATE: "Forewing upperside with black discal dashes between veins M3 and CuA2 not prominent; discal spot transverse, kidney-shaped, dirty white. Hindwing upperside with translucent patch posterior to vein M1 shorter than the black marginal band is broad at vein M1."

The upperside of the forewing is dark gray with a blue tint. The yellow patch in the hindwing is deeply divided, and the transparent area, ending sharply at the black margin, is smaller than that of antaeus. The male has very large claspers. This picture was taken on September 6, 2002 - 9:32 PM in Yasuni, Ecuador, by Steve Graser. Robert Lehman confirms them in Honduras.

They are also taken in Bolivia: Santa Cruz: Florida, Mataral; Ichilo, Buena Vista; La Víbora; Beni: José Ballivián, Espíritu; Río Andacuma; La Paz: Murillo, Zongo Cuticucho; La Paz: La Paz, 11000'; Larecaja, San Agustín, Mapiri, 3500'; Murillo, Río Zongo, 750m; Santa Cruz: Ichilo, Buena Vista, 750m; and in
Argentina: Tucuman.

Cocytius duponchel, Brasil, Poté, Minas Gerais, November 11, 2004,
courtesy of Frederik Goussey, possibly Amphonyx rivularis.

This species was originally described as Amphonyx duponchel, but was reclassified as a Cocytius species, and probably will be listed as Cocytius duponchel for some time.

Cocytius duponchel, Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona, Cauca, Colombia,
140mm, May 31, 2011, courtesy of Humberto Calero Mejia,
Evaluación del estado actual de los objetos de conservación faunísticos en Isla Gorgona:
una aproximación holística a la valoración ecológica de Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona.

Cocytius duponchel (verso), Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona, Cauca, Colombia,
140mm, May 31, 2011, courtesy of Humberto Calero Mejia,
Evaluación del estado actual de los objetos de conservación faunísticos en Isla Gorgona:
una aproximación holística a la valoración ecológica de Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona.

Cocytius duponchel male, Villavicenciom Meta, Colombia,
forewing length = 53mm, January 10, 2012, 500m,
courtesy of Gregory Nielsen, id by Bill Oehlke.

Cocytius duponchel male (verso), Villavicenciom Meta, Colombia,
forewing length = 53mm, January 10, 2012, 500m,
courtesy of Gregory Nielsen, id by Bill Oehlke.

Gregory Nielsen noted the especially large claspers on the male depicted above from Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Cocytius duponchel adults nectar at flowers and brood continuously.

Amphonyx duponchel, Stoelmanseiland, Sipaliwini District, Suriname,
July 22, 2011, courtesy of Johan van't Bosch.

In Bolivia there are records for March-April and June-July-August-September-October-November-December.

There are November records for French Guiana.

Humberto Calero Mejia reports a May 31, 2011, flight in PNN Gorgona, Cauca, Colombia; Gregory Nielsen reports a January flight in Meta, Colombia.

Both males and females come to lights. Andres Urbas reports an April 1, 2011, flight near Kaw, French Guiana.

Cocytius duponchel, Camp Caiman, near Kaw, French Guiana,
April 1, 2011, courtesy of Andres Urbas.

ECLOSION:

Pupae probably wiggle to surface from subterranean chambers just prior to eclosion.

Cocytius duponchel female from Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Cocytius duponchel female, La Union del Toachi, Ecuador,
November 16, 1998, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

Cocytius duponchel male, Tena, Napo, Ecuador,
December 6, 2002, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

SCENTING AND MATING: Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the abdomen. The females seem to have much more white on the forewings as compared to the males. The image to the right was taken in Yasuni, Ecuador, September 7, 2002, at 2:20 AM by Steve Graser.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Colourful larvae (not hairy, white posterior slash that fades into bluish, 1-2 white posterior costal slashes, maroon line down center of apple green back, 13.2 g as large last instar) feed on Guatteria diospyroides, Annona purpurea, Annona reticulata, Xylopia frutescens and Custard apple (Annona glabra) and probably other members of the Annonaceae family.

Moths emerge from pupae in as few as 21 days from pupation.

Larvae are subject to parasitization from Leschenaultia sp. 12 of the Tachinidae family.

Cocytius duponchel, La Vega, Dominican Republic, courtesy of Jean Haxaire.

The following images from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, have been identified by Jean Haxaire as Cocytius duponchel.

Cocytius duponchel final instar, Horizontia, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
June 11, 2019, courtesy of Geovana Alberti, via Luis F. Alberti,
identification suggested by Jean Haxaire.

Cocytius duponchel, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
August 16, 2019, courtesy of Laiz Carvalho, via Luis F. Alberti,
identification by Jean Haxaire.

Please send sightings/images to Bill. I will do my best to respond to requests for identification help.

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