Darapsa myron, the Virginia creeper sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae found in central and eastern North America.
| Darapsa myron | |
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| Darapsa myron, adult | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Sphingidae |
| Genus: | Darapsa |
| Species: | D. myron
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| Binomial name | |
| Darapsa myron | |
| Synonyms | |
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Distribution
editIt is found in southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada,[2] and in the United States is found from Maine south to south Florida; west to North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. It also can be found in Mexico.
Description
edit-
Male dorsal -
Male ventral
Biology
editThere are two or three broods in much of the range, and larvae can mature in as few as three weeks. Larvae hide on the midribs of their host leaves and are nocturnal feeders. During July and August, this species is abundant in many areas, particularly Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Adults emerge in the mid-afternoon and females begin calling bob after dusk. In spring, adults are more likely to feed, nectaring from flowers and drinking fluids from rotting fruit. In areas where they are common, D. myron readily come to both lights and sugar baits, being most active between sunset and midnight. Females have much rounder abdomens while the end of the male's abdomen is spade-shaped. Pairing is fairly quick and captive adults do not need to be fed, although females lay more eggs when fed. Sometimes adults refuse food altogether. Mated females deposit up to 150 small eggs that start out green but turn yellow within 48 hours, indicating fertility. Incubation lasts about six days. Full grown caterpillars pose the ability to chew though sleeves. Fully grown larvae turn a purplish brown before spinning a sparse, wiry cocoon among host leaves. Pupae either enclose within about 20 days or diapause, eclosing in late May.[citation needed]
The larvae are known to feed on Virginia creeper, Viburnums, grape vines, and raccoon grapes.[3]
Subspecies
edit- Darapsa myron myron
- Darapsa myron mexicana (Gehlen, 1933) (Mexico)
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Darapsa myron mexicana dorsal female -
Darapsa myron mexicana ventral female
References
edit- ^ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
- ^ Beadle, David; Leckie, Seabrooke (2012). Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 266. ISBN 9780547238487.
- ^ "Virginia Creeper Sphinx". Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
External links
edit- Virginia creeper sphinx Butterflies and Moths of North America
- Darapsa myron Archived 2007-02-10 at the Wayback Machine Sphingidae of the Americas
- Moth Caterpillars Feeding on Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
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