Eumorpha vitis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Eumorpha vitis, known as the vine sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It lives from Argentina north through Central America, the West Indies, and Mexico to southern Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida. Strays north to Nebraska.
The wingspan is 85–105 mm. Adults are on wing from April to May and again from July to October in Florida, from July to September in one generation in the northern part of the range and year-round in the tropics. They feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Vinca rosea.
The larvae feed on Vitis species (including Vitis vinifera), Cissus species (including Cissus incisa, Cissus pseudosicyoides, Cissus rhombifolia, Cissus sicycoides and Cissus verticillata), Ludwigia decurrens, Ludwigia erecta, Magnolia virginiana and Parthenocissus species.
Eumorpha vitis vitis (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Caribbean, southern United States)
Eumorpha vitis fuscatus - (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) (St. Lucia, Guadeloupe and Martinique... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 6 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Vine Sphinx sighting in Mexico City on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 309th 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.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Vine Sphinx in Mexico City on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Mexico City's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against 5 mm in December.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Vine Sphinx sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
11th of 12
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Vine Sphinx sightings, Mexico City ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 20%), San Antonio (United States, about 10%) and Manaus (Brazil, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Vine Sphinx is recorded against all the insects logged in Mexico City (16 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.
