Agrius cingulata

{{Short description|Species of moth}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Pink-spotted hawk moth (Agrius cingulata) male.jpg

| image_caption = male, Mount Totumas cloud forest, Panama

| genus = Agrius

| species = cingulata

| authority = (Fabricius, 1775){{cite web|url=http://www.cate-sphingidae.org/taxonomy/Agrius/cingulata.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113095012/http://www.cate-sphingidae.org/taxonomy/Agrius/cingulata.html|archivedate=13 November 2012|url-status=dead|title=CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience – Sphingidae |publisher=Cate-sphingidae.org |accessdate=1 November 2011}}

| range_map = Distribution.agrius.cingulatus.1.png

| range_map_caption = Native range, see text for details

| synonyms =

  • Sphinx cingulata Fabricius, 1775
  • Herse cingulata
  • Protoparce cingulata
  • Phlegethontius cingulata
  • Sphinx affinis Goeze, 1780
  • Sphinx pungens Eschscholtz, 1821
  • Sphinx druraei Donovan, 1810
  • Agrius cingulatus
  • Agrius cingulata ypsilon-nigrum Bryk, 1953
  • Herse cingulata pallida Closs, 1917
  • Herse cingulata tukurine Lichy, 1943
  • Sphinx cingulata decolora Edwards, 1882

}}

Agrius cingulata, the pink-spotted hawkmoth or sweetpotato hornworm, is a moth in the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775.

Description

The imago has a wingspan of {{fraction|3|3|4}} to {{fraction|4|3|4}} inches (9.5–12 cm). Its robust body is gray brown with pink bands. The abdomen tapers to a point. The hindwings are gray with black bands and pink at the bases.

Agrius cingulata MHNT CUT 2010 0 208 Itatiaia National Park Brazil female dorsal.jpg|Female

Agrius cingulata MHNT CUT 2010 0 208 Itatiaia National Park Brazil female ventral.jpg|Female underside

Agrius cingulata MHNT CUT 2010 0 208 Itatiaia National Park Brazil male dorsal.jpg|Male

Agrius cingulata MHNT CUT 2010 0 208 Itatiaia National Park Brazil male ventral.jpg|Male underside

Biology

The imago is nocturnal.{{Cite journal|last1=da Paz|first1=Joicelene Regina Lima|last2=Gimenes|first2=Miriam|last3=Pigozzo|first3=Camila Magalhães|date=2013|title=Three diurnal patterns of anthesis in Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa (Convolvulaceae): Implications for temporal, behavioral and morphological characteristics of pollinators?|journal=Flora – Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants|volume=208|issue=2|pages=138–146|doi=10.1016/j.flora.2013.02.007|issn=0367-2530}} It feeds on the nectar from deep-throated flowers including moonflower (Calonyction aculeatum), morning glories (Convolvulus species), and petunias (Petunia species).{{Cite journal|last1=Halder|first1=Bani|last2=Sultana|first2=Shanjida|last3=Akter|first3=Tangin|last4=Begum|first4=Shefali|date=20 July 2018|title=Life cycle, feeding behavior and nature of damage of sweet potato leaf moth, Agrius cingulata (Fabricius) and Agrius Convolvuli (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)|journal=Dhaka University Journal of Biological Sciences|volume=27|issue=2|pages=125–134|doi=10.3329/dujbs.v27i2.46461|issn=2408-8501|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=Steven D.|last2=Raguso|first2=Robert A.|date=7 September 2015|title=The long-tongued hawkmoth pollinator niche for native and invasive plants in Africa|journal=Annals of Botany|volume=117|issue=1|pages=25–36|doi=10.1093/aob/mcv137|pmid=26346719|pmc=4701141|issn=0305-7364|doi-access=free}}

The larva is a large, stout caterpillar with a horn. It feeds during the day and the night on sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), Datura species, and other plants. It is known as a pest of sweet potato.

Distribution

This is mainly a neotropical species, and the adults migrate north to Canada and south to Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. It can also be found in the Galápagos Islands and Hawaii. It has been reported from western Europe, including Portugal and the United Kingdom. It has recently become established in West Africa and Cape Verde, possibly having originated in Brazil.{{cite web |last=Pittaway |first=A. R. |date=2018 |url=http://tpittaway.tripod.com/sphinx/a_cin.htm |title=Agrius Hübner, [1819] |at=Distribution |website=Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic |accessdate=18 December 2018}}{{cite journal| last1 = Bauer| first1 = E.| last2 = Traub| first2 = B.|date=July 1980| title = Zur Macrolepidopterenfauna der Kapverdischen Inseln|trans-title=On the Macrolepidoptera fauna of the Cape Verde Islands| journal = Entomologische Zeitschrift| location = Frankfurt am Main| volume = 90| issue = 14| pages = 244–248 ("Part 1: Sphingidae und Arctiidae")| language = German| editor = Dr. Heinz Schröder for the Society Internationaler Entomologischer Verein| publisher = Alfred Kernen Verlag in Stuttgart}}{{Cite journal|title = The Occurrence Of A Neotropical Hawkmoth In Southern Portugal: Agrius cingulatus|url = http://www.sea-entomologia.org/PHORON/pdf/PHO-B38-Agrius.pdf|author = Eduardo Marabuto|journal = Boletín Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa|volume = 38|year = 2006|pages = 163–166}}

Gallery

image:Agrius cingulata variation sjh.JPG|Adult variation

File:Starr 020124 0026 agrius cingulata.jpg|Caterpillar

References

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