Interesting Facts
Description
Family Sphingidae
'The Sphingidae belong to the Superfamily
Sphingoidea. Members
of this family
are commonly called "hummingbird," "sphinx," or "hawk" moths, and some can be mistaken for hummingbirds. Most are medium to large moths, with heavy bodies; wingspread reaches
5 inches or more in some species. The Sphingidae are strong
and fast fliers, with a rapid wingbeat. Most species in the group are active
at dusk, and most feed
much like hummingbirds, hovering in front of a flower and sipping nectar through the extended proboscis. The proboscis rolls up when not in use. Some species lack scales
on large portions of their wings
, resulting in transparent or clear wings. In most species, the larval stage
is called a "hornworm" because the caterpillar''s posterior end has a harmless hook or hornlike appendage
protruding upward. Unfortunately, the caterpillar of some species can be very destructive to agricultural crops
and ornamental
plantings
.
'[1]
Habitat
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,412 meters (0 to 4,633 feet).[2]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Superorder:
Amphiesmenoptera
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Suborder:
Glossata
()
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Superfamily:
Sphingoidea
()
- Family:
Sphingidae
()
- Samouelle, 1819
- Sphinx Moths
- Genus:
Adhemarius
()
- Subgenus:
abyssal
()
- Specific name:
palmeri
- Boisduval 1875
- Scientific name: - Adhemarius palmeri Boisduval 1875
- Specific name:
palmeri
- Boisduval 1875
- Subgenus:
abyssal
(
- Genus:
Adhemarius
(
- Family:
Sphingidae
(
- Superfamily:
Sphingoidea
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Suborder:
Glossata
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Amphiesmenoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name .
Similar Species
Members of the genus Adhemarius
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1 species and subspecies in this genus:
A. blanchardorum (Blanchards' Amplypterus)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 28, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
- LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Release date: June 15, 2005
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
- The Global Lepidoptera Names Index2, 12.2, 2005.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:
- Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental: Coleção de Entomologia do Laboratório de Biologia Vegetal
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (Costa Rica): Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 6213366
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-53811.0
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1715642
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=30&sci=Sphingidae&com=Sphinx Moths, Hawkmoths [back]
- Mean = 586.100 meters (1,922.900 feet), Standard Deviation = 711.400 based on 10 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
