Enyo lugubris lugubris female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

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TAXONOMY: Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 Subfamily: Macroglossinae, Harris, 1839 Tribe: Dilophonotini, Burmeister, 1878 Genus: Enyo Hubner, [1819] ........... Species: lugubris lugubris (Linnaeus, 1771)

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Mournful Sphinx Moth, Enyo lugubris lugubris (Wing span: 2 - 2 3/8 inches (5 - 6 cm)), flies in
Argentina: Buenos Aires, Chaco, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, La Rioja, Misiones, Salta, Santa Fe, Tucuman; and
Paraguay: Alto Paraguay, Boqueron, Presidente Hayes, Concepcion, Amambay, (probably San Pedro (WO?)), Canindeyu, Alto Parana, Cordillera, Central, Caaguazu, Guaira, Paraguari, (probably Caazapa, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu (WO??):
Uruguay;
Venezuela: Apure, Aragua, Bolivar, Guarico, Lara, Portuguesa;
Guyana: Morawhanna;
Surinam;
French Guiana: Kaw;
Colombia;
Ecuador;
Peru: Junin;
Paraguay: Asuncion; Central; Canindeyu;
Brazil: Minas Gerais (LV), probably Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and most of Brazil; southern Maranhao; Ceara;
the West Indies, and
Mexico;
Belize: Corozol, Orange Walk, Cayo, Toledo;
Guatemala;
Honduras;
El Salvador;
Nicaragua;
Costa Rica; and
Panama: Panama: Radisson; Gamboa at elevations from sea level to at least 2700m.

It would also be found in most, if not all, of the Carribean Islands. Jean Haxaire provides a beautiful image of Enyo lugubris from the Dominican Republic.

Enyo lugubris nectaring at Sarracenia alata, October 17, 2008, 50m,
Sabine National Forest, Jasper County, Texas, courtesy of Wolfgang Stuppy.

Visit Enyo lugubris nectaring at Sarracenia alata, October 17, 2008, 50m, Sabine National Forest, Jasper County, Texas, courtesy of Wolfgang Stuppy.

In the United States the moth has been taken from Arizona east to Florida and north to South Carolina. Strays sometimes appear in Arkansas and as far north as Illinois, Michigan and New York. Tom Middaugh sends an image of a stray into bait trap, Worthington, Nobles County, Minnesota.

Enyo lugubris stray, Worthington, Nobles County, Minnesota,
August 25, 2021, courtesy of Tom Middaugh, digital repair to fw apices & upper o.m. by Bill Oehlke.

Antigua is the specimen type locality.

Visit Stepanie Sanchez's Enyo lugubris images from southern Florida.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Wauchula, Hardee County, Florida, August 30, 2013, Greg Roehm.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Islamorada, Monroe Co., Florida, December 22, 2008, Shelby Heeter.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, October 10, 2012, Jeff Trahan.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, Florida, October 29, 2011, 7:00 pm, Jorge Crespo.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Hinesville, Liberty Co., Georgia, Nicole Janke.

Visit Enyo lugubris, male and female, Panama, April, 2015, Tony James.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Macico do Baturite, Aratuba, Ceara, May 12, 2016, courtesy of Meremii Souza.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Extremoz, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, November 11, 2018, courtesy of Francierlem Oliveira.

Enyo lugubris lugubris, Tyler, Smith County, northeastern Texas,
November 7, 2007, courtesy of Justin & Valerie Valleau.

In Bolivia, the species has been recorded in "Santa Cruz: Andrés Ibáñez; Ichilo, El Chore; Florida, Pampa Grande; La Paz: Murillo, Zongo Cuticucho; Cota Cota; Beni: José Ballivián, Estación Biológica del Beni; La Paz: Murillo, La Paz; Larecaja, San Agustín, Mapiri, 3500'; Santa Cruz: Sarah, 450m; German Bush, Puerto Suárez, 150m; "Cuatro ojos"; Andrés Ibáñez, Santa Cruz; Beni: "Lower Mamoré"." Haxaire

Visit Enyo lugubris, male and female, live and spread, Coviriali, Junin, Peru, 662m, January 10 and February 9, 2008, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky.

The body and wings are dark brown. The forewing has a large black patch covering most of the outer half of the wing. There is a pale tan cell spot (dark inner pupil), and a fairly straight median line to the inside of the cell spot. Sphinx fegeus Cramer, 1780, Surinam, is same as Enyo lugubris lugubris. Epistor luctuosa Boisduval, [1875], Brazil, is same as Enyo lugubris lugubris. ab. Epistor rufa Silva, 1934, Brazil, is same as Enyo lugubris lugubris. Enyo lugubris lugubris, Yasuni, Ecuador, September 10, 2002 - 10:28 PM, courtesy of Steve Graser.

Visit Enyo lugubris, Misiones, Argentina.

Enyo lugubris, Anna Maria Island, Florida, November 20, 2006, courtesy of Juergen Lachmann.

FLIGHT TIMES:

Enyo lugubris lugubris broods continuously in the tropics, south Florida, and Louisiana. Moths are on the wing from August-November in more northern locales.

In Bolivia there are records for January, March, and June-December.

Vladimir Izersky reports them on the wing in January-February in Peru.

Larry Valentine reports a January flight in Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Visit Enyo lugubris recto and verso, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, January 25, 2010.

Enyo lugubris, Miami Dade County, Florida, December 10, 2004, courtesy of Lisa D. Anness.

Visit Enyo lugubris adult, October 20, 2007,
Grey Forest, Texas, courtesy of Mike van Buskirk.

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae formed in loose cocoons in shallow underground burrows.

Enyo lugubris lugubris male (dark phase) courtesy of Vernon Brou.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the abdomen. Both males and females nectar at flowers during the day, making a strong whirring sound as they hover. In Florida they have been reported hovering over flowers of Asystasia gangetica at dusk.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Larvae show several colour variations. Visit Enyo lugubris: three different larval colour forms, Long Beach, Harrison County, Mississippi, courtesy of Ashley Geil.

Moths can emerge from pupae in as few as seventeen days, maybe less! Ignez de Castro in Jundiai, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Enyo lugubris, larvae (different colour forms), Bon Secour, Alabama,
September 4, 2012, courtesy of Dirk Bayer.

Enyo lugubris, larva, Bon Secour, Alabama,
September 4, 2012, courtesy of Dirk Bayer.

Larvae probably feed on Vitus tiliifolia and other members of the Vitaceae family: Vitis, Cissus, Ampelopsis. In Florida larvae have been reported on larvae on Possum Vine (Cissus sicyoides) and Pepper Vine (Ampelopsis arborea).

The "horn" is very long in early instars and head is relatively large. As the larva matures, the body develops rapidly, leaving the head relatively small and the "horn" relatively short.

Enyo lugubris lugubris male (light phase) courtesy of Vernon Brou.

Enyo lugubris lugubris female (light phase) courtesy of Vernon Brou.

Enyo lugubris lugubris female (dark phase) courtesy of Vernon Brou.

Enyo lugubris, first instar, Boca Raton, Florida, courtesy of Alan Chin-Lee.

Enyo lugubris, fourth instar, Boca Raton, Florida, courtesy of Alan Chin-Lee.

Enyo lugubris, fifth instar, Boca Raton, Florida, courtesy of Alan Chin-Lee.

Enyo lugubris, pupa, Boca Raton, Florida, courtesy of Alan Chin-Lee.

Enyo lugubris, Boca Raton, Florida, courtesy of Alan Chin-Lee.

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