Caterpillars of the
World - Brazil
Zebra Sphinx
Isognathus
leachi SWAINSON, 1823
Family -
SPHINGIDAE
subfamily -
MACROGLOSSINAE
Tribe -
DILOPHONOTINI
introduction
|
habitats |
lifecycle |
adult
Isognathus leachi,
Fazenda Rancho Grande, Rondonia, Brazil
Introduction
The family Sphingidae comprises 200
genera and about 1200 known species worldwide, of which about 150
are placed in the tribe Dilophonotini, which has its stronghold
in the neotropical region.
Isognathus leachi
is found in Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
Habitats
This species is found
in secondary and primary forest, at elevations between about
200-500m.
Lifecycle
The larval foodplants of this species are
Allamanda
and
Plumieria
species ( Apocynaceae ).
The bold pattern and long whip-like tail of the larva sends a
clear message to potential predators "leave me alone !". It is an
example of aposematic colouration, whereby a prey species conveys
to predators a visual warning that it is poisonous or dangerous
and not for consumption. Unfortunately in practice it has little
effect, as Paul Bertner describes :
"I
began snapping away obliviously when our guide Artour spotted the
tachinid fly circling around the caterpillar. The extremely long
tail of this species appears to serve a defensive function. As the
fly landed close to the rear the caterpillar would flick its tail,
dislodging the fly to prevent it from ovipositing its eggs. The
fly undeterred walked up the body until it was close to the head
and out of range of the tail where it began to lay eggs. It seemed
to prefer the posterior end of the caterpillar for some reason as
it kept on trying to move back there, perhaps laying too close to
the front might kill the caterpillar faster and thereby not leave
enough time for the larvae to mature, whereas the rear of the
caterpillar may not house such vital organs to be destroyed by the
larvae. The long orange ovipositor of the fly can be seen quite
clearly in the photo. Kanuku mountains, Guyana".
Tachinid fly
Winthemia sp, using it's long orange
ovipositor to inject eggs into an Isognathus
larva in Guyana
( photo courtesy © Paul Bertner )
Adult
The adult moth
has dark brown forewings, with a bark-like pattern of grey and
black streaks. The hindwings are bright orange-yellow, with broad
dark brown margins.
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