Biology:Dolba

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Short description: Genus of moths

Pawpaw sphinx
Pawpaw Sphinx (Dolba hyloeus).jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Tribe: Sphingini
Genus: Dolba
Walker, 1856
Species:
D. hyloeus
Binomial name
Dolba hyloeus
(Drury, 1773)[1]
Synonyms
  • Clark, 1917 Drury, 1773
  • Clark, 1919 Sphinx prini
  • Sphinx hyloeus J. E. Smith, 1797
  • Dolba schausi Dolba hyloeus floridensis

Dolba is a monotypic moth genus in the family Sphingidae erected by Francis Walker in 1856. Its only species, Dolba hyloeus, the pawpaw sphinx, was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.

Distribution

The pawpaw sphinx ranges throughout the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, south to Florida and west to Wisconsin, eastern Oklahoma, and southern Texas .[1]

Description

The wingspan is 50–68 millimetres (2.0–2.7 in).[2] While the pawpaw sphinx's cryptic coloration appears similar to that of certain Noctuid moths, such as the members of genus Catocala, the pawpaw sphinx's forewings do not overlap at rest, such that part of the abdomen remains exposed. The pawpaw sphinx can be distinguished from the rustic sphinx (Manduca rustica) by the former's smaller size and the absence of orange dots on the abdomen that the rustic sphinx exposes in flight.[3]

Biology

Larvae of this species feed on pawpaw, as well as blueberries[3] and deciduous hollies such as inkberry and winterberry.[2]

References

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q141070 entry