Xylophanes neoptolemus

Xylophanes neoptolemus
Male dorsal
Male ventral
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Xylophanes
Species:	X. neoptolemus
Binomial name
Xylophanes neoptolemus (Cramer, 1780)
Synonyms
Sphinx neoptolemus Cramer, 1780 Chaerocampa brasiliensis Schaufuss, 1870 Chaerocampa trilineata Walker, 1865 Xylophanes neoptolemus trinitatis Closs, 1917

Xylophanes neoptolemus is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

Repartition

It is found from Trinidad and Surinam to Venezuela and north-western Brazil. It is probably present in much of South America.

Description

It is similar to Xylophanes loelia and Xylophanes libya but has a deeper red coloration of the median band of the hindwing upperside. The mesothorax and metathorax have a pale grey medial band that continues onto the abdomen as a pair of thin lines, enclosing a darker olive-green or brown median line. The first and fourth postmedian lines on the forewings is narrow and continuous from the inner margin to the apex. The area between these lines is yellow, contrasting with the pinkish coloration of the rest of the wing. There is a black subapical dot which is generally very small. The median band on the hindwing upperside is bright red and relatively broad, tapering towards and reaching or almost reaching the costa.

• 
  Female dorsal
  (coll.MHNT)
• 
  Female ventral
  (coll.MHNT)

Biology

Adults are probably on wing year-round.