Pseudosphinx tetrio
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pseudosphinx is a monotypic genus of moth in the family Sphingidae first described by Hermann Burmeister in 1856. Its only species, Pseudosphinx tetrio, was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771. Its common names include tetrio sphinx, giant gray sphinx, frangipani hornworm, and plumeria caterpillar. In the island of Martinique it is best known as Rasta caterpillar (chenille rasta, in French) because of its colors which are reminiscent of the ones found in Rastafarian clothing and accessories. It is native to the tropical and subtropical Americas from the southern and southwestern United States to Brazil. The occasional individual has been recorded as far north as the northeastern United States.
The adult moth is brown with gray and white markings, and the hindwing is a darker brown. The female may be lighter in tone. The body has gray, white, and black bands. The wingspan is 12.7 to 14 centimeters, and the female is generally slightly larger than the male.
The larva is a caterpillar which may exceed 15 centimeters in length. It is black with aposematic yellow bands and a red-orange head. Toward the posterior end is an orange bump with a black horn roughly 2 centimeters... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaragua National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Bastimentos Island National Marine Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Caroni Swamp | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 7 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 8 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 10 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 12 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 13 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 14 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 15 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 16 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 17 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 18 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | São Luís | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 7 | Belém | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tetrio Sphinx sighting in Mexico City on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 288th most-seen of the 557 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tetrio Sphinx in Mexico City on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months. Those are among Mexico City's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in July.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tetrio Sphinx sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
19th of 20
Of the 20 cities where we can rate Tetrio Sphinx sightings, Mexico City ranks 19th at under 5%. The best odds are in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 30%), São Luís (Brazil, about 30%) and João Pessoa (Brazil, about 20%).
Same family: Sphingidae
The closest relatives of the Tetrio Sphinx that you can see in Mexico City (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Pink-Spotted Hawkmoth (about 10%), White-Lined Sphinx (about 10%) and Falcon Sphinx (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tetrio Sphinx is recorded against all the insects logged in Mexico City (17 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
