Erinnyis obscura

Description

Erinnyis obscura, the obscure sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Johann Christian Fabricius in 1775. It lives from the northern part of South America up to the central United States. The wingspan is 56–65 mm. Females have almost uniformly gray forewings with black markings on the basal half and near the center of the costa, although some are nearly all black. The upperside of the male forewing is pale gray with black markings and a black line in the center running from the base to about three-fourths of the wing length. In both sexes, the hindwing upperside is orange with a narrow black border. Adults are on wing year round in the tropics, southern Florida and southern Texas. The caterpillars feed on various members of the family Apocynaceae, including Rauvolfia ligustrina, Rauvolfia tetraphylla, Stemmadenia obovata, Philibertia, Cynanchum and Carica papaya as well as Asclepiadaceae and spurge species, including Blepharodon mucronatum, Funastrum clausum and Morrenia odorata.