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Tersa Sphinx
Michael J. Papay, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Butterflies & moths

Tersa Sphinx

Xylophanes tersa Linnaeus, 1771

Names

EnglishTersa Sphinx
Dutch—
SpanishPolilla Esfinge Tersa
Chinese—
Sranan Tongokapelka (general name for the group)
Scientific nameXylophanes tersa Linnaeus, 1771

About this species

Xylophanes tersa, the tersa sphinx, is a species of moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771. It is found from the United States (Massachusetts south to southern Florida, west to Nebraska, New Mexico and southern Arizona), through Mexico, the West Indies and Central America and into parts of South America (including Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil). An occasional stray can be found as far north as Canada.

The larvae feed on Borreria, Catalpa, Manettia, and Pentas species, and Spermacoce glabra, Hamelia patens, Hedyotis nigricans, Heimia salicifolia, Psychotria microdon, Psychotria nervosa, and Inga vera.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilySphingidae
GenusXylophanes

In Suriname

11Records in Suriname
9iNaturalist observations
1963First record
2025Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Sipaliwini4
  • Brokopondo2
  • Para2
  • Marowijne1
  • Paramaribo1

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Sources & credits

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