Brief observations of flight time by Vernon Antoine Brou Jr. 74320 Jack Loyd Road, Abita Springs, 70420 email: [email protected]

Each of appears to have a particular period of night time activity, the time at which it is most likely to take flight. Each sex may also have a different period of flight. To illustrate this species variable flight time, the arrival time of some species of larger lepidoptera (Saturnidae, Sphingidae, and Catocala) were logged at a single attended ultraviolet light trap (1885 watts) during 5 nights of collecting in 1991 near West Feliciana Parish, sec.63 and sec.76T1SR3W, 3.2 km NE Turnbull/Weyanoke, and in the case ofEumorpha achemon (Drury), one night at Natchitoches Parish, Kisatchie National Forest. The light traps were operated from before dusk to after dawn each night. This first report list 13 species (599 individuals) (figs. 1 - 13) of the more abundantly collected Sphingidae: Agrius cingulata(F.), Manduca rustica (F.), Manduca jasminearum (Guer.), amyntor(Geyer), (Wlk.), Paratrea plebeja (F.), (J.E. Smith), (J.E. Smith), E. achemon, Eumorpha pandorus (Hbn.), Darapsa myron (Cram.), Sphecodina abbottii (Swainson), and Xylophanes tersa (L.).

Some species were collected throughout the entire night asA. cingulata and X. tersa (Figs. 1 and 13). M. jasminearum (Fig. 3) displayed a flight period of about one hour.S. abbottii has a very brief flight period of less than one-half hour occurring immediately at dusk, the same period to which it responds to fermenting fruit bait over many years of personal observation. Two species,C. amyntor and D. myron (Figs. 4 and 11), exhibited bimodal distribution on the wing early in the night and again near dawn. E. pandorus (Fig. 10) has an eight hour flight period, but the majority of the specimens arrived during the last four hours of the period. Most interesting are the opposing flight periods exhibited by P. myops and P. excaecatus (Figs.7 and 8).

Time 5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 1 A. cingulata n = 36 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 2 M. rustica n = 27 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 3 M. jasminearum n = 10 0number of adults 5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 4 C. amyntor n =15 0number of adults Time 5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 5 C. undulosa n = 32 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 6 P. plebeja n = 36

0number of adults

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 7 P. myops n = 72 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 8 P. excaecatus n = 32 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 9 E. achemon n = 6 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 10 E. pandorus n = 99 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 11 D. myron n = 54 numbers of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 12 S. abbottii n = 19 number of adults 0

5 2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 Fig. 13 X. tersa n = 188

number of adults 0

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X tersa Sphecodina abbottiiDarapsa myron Eumorpha pandorusEumorpha achemon Paonias excaecatus n = 54 n = 99 n = 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 5 0 5 0 5 1 5 5 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 4 0 5 2 5 0 5 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 4 1 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 1 5 0 5 1 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 5 1 5 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5

Paonias myops Paratrea plebeja Ceratomia undulosa Manduca jasminearum n = 72 n = 36 n = 32 n = 15 n = 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 1 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 1 5 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 5 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 5 1 5 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 1 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 5 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 5

Manduca rustica Agrius cingulata n = 27