Attributes of Aellopos tantalus

Tantalus sphinx
Aellopos tantalus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Sphingidae
Subfamily: Macroglossinae
Identification: Body is reddish brown with a wide white band across the abdomen. Forewing upperside is reddish brown with a black cell spot and 3 white spots near the gray marginal area. A pale streak runs from the cell spot to the inner margin of the wing. Hindwing upperside is dark brown.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 inches (4.5 - 5.7 cm).
Life History: Adults emerge in the morning and fly during the day with a rapid flight. Females lay eggs on the host plant in the late afternoon. Young caterpillars eat new leaf growth and more mature caterpillars eat both new and older growth. Caterpillars pupate in loose cocoons in the leaf litter.
Flight: . All year in the tropics and Florida.
Caterpillar Hosts: Seven year apple (Casasia clusiifolia) in the madder family (Rubiaceae).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including white stopper (Eugenia axillaris) and lantana.
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical lowlands.
Range: Paraguay north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to Florida. There is one record each from New York and southern Michigan.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Aellopos tantalus

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Aellopos tantalus - 1710_17.jpg

Aellopos tantalus - 1710_17.jpg

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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.

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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.

Observation Date Submitter Region Verified Datesort icon
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Brevard County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Collier County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Hillsborough County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Lee County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Martin County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Monroe County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Palm Beach County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Pinellas County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter St Johns County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Sarasota County, Florida, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Berrien County, Michigan, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Albany County, New York, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States December 31, 2004 Details