Feeding Protoparce sexta (Hawkmoth)

Walter Piorkowski · Post by **Walter Piorkowski** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 9:14 pm

Feeding Protoparce sexta (Hawkmoth)

Canon Pro90 IS
Canon closeup lens 500D
Strobe

One of my favorite insect subjects are the fast flying, Humming bird like, Hawkmoths. This common species I have only seen feed at night, actually early evening. Note the extraordinary length of the proboscis.

A night feeder upon the nectar of our moon flower crop. (Solanaceae datura,syn.Brugmansia suaveolens, Angels Trumpet). Complements of my wife who grows them.

Family Shingidae, (Hawkmoths), subfamily Acheronitiae, Genus Protoparce sexta. The Tomato Sphinx.

Walt

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:19 pm

Wow! Great!

It looks alike my Agrius convolvuli. We have Datura flowers here so I can figure out that moths are of the same size.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:44 pm

WOW.....Excellent shot Walter. That proboscis has to be the longest in the insect kingdom. Nikola, it does look very close to yours

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:02 am

By the way, Protoparce ? Is it same as Manduca?
Here are some interesting links about sphinks moths.

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:57 am

Doug

Longest known moth probocis is 12"-14" (30-35cm) long! But an even longer one, yet to be discovered, is predicted to polinate a flower with an even deeper nectary. See:-

http://www.travelafricamag.com/content/view/1353/72/

DaveW

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:03 am

Datura is also known as a highly poisonus and hallucinogenic plant.

The effects of Datura can be extreme, leading to a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy and with possibly deadly consequence.

But fortunately not for this moth.

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:02 am

MacroLuv

"The effects of Datura can be extreme, leading to a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy and with possibly deadly consequences"

Guess that must be what our UK politicians have been taking for years then!

DaveW

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:17 am

Hey folks -- if you're into aerodynamics, take a look at the extreme twist of those left wings!

MacroLuv, yes, Protoparce = Manduca. Other synonyms, at various times for various species, have been Sphinx, Phelegethontius, Macrosila, Diludia, Syzygia, and Chlaenogramma. See for example this Tree of Life page for dates and authors. The information there duplicates what's printed in my copy of Ronald W. Hodges' "The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 21, SPHINGOIDEA" (1971), which I see is one of the references given on the web page. Wow, I wonder how many person-hours went into tracking this stuff down back when all we had was printed pages?

--Rik

Cyclops · Post by **Cyclops** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:15 am

Fantastic! Is this the Hummingbird Hawkmoth- we sometimes get them here in the UK(Ive seen one on my moms Buddleia once)

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:49 am

Cyclops

Hummingbird hawk moth is Macroglossum stellatarum

See:-

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2198

I note this was first described very early on by Carl von Linné, latinised as Linnaeus, who was the person that invented binomial nomenclature, now used for all flora and fauna.

DaveW

Cyclops · Post by **Cyclops** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:58 am

DaveW wrote:Cyclops

Hummingbird hawk moth is Macroglossum stellatarum

See:-

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2198

I note this was first described very early on by Carl von Linné, latinised as Linnaeus, who was the person that invented binomial nomenclature, now used for all flora and fauna.

DaveW

O h of course, I should have remembered. Macroglossum means large (long) tongue, thats how I used to remember it!

Walter Piorkowski · Post by **Walter Piorkowski** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:14 pm

Wow, getting wows from you guys is a high complement. Thank you.

Nikola, Please don't be missled by the sphinx common name. It is a true hawkmoth. I looked up your Agrius convolili in my referance book and found a close relative. It is the same size as P sexta but more red color in the hind wing.

Walt

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:23 pm

Awesome shot there Walt, very beautiful indeed!