This lifeform is widespread in North America. This lifeform is found widely in the New World tropics.

New World Sphingini common genera includes Manduca, Sphinx and Cocytius.

Cocytius genus is an American genus of mostly gigantic moths with nine different species, assuming Neococytius cluentus is counted in the group. One species has two forms.

The ten forms of Cocytius genus are as follows:

   SPECIES                RANGE           CHARACTERISTICS

   Cocytius antaeus       Caribbean       Paler than
   subspecies antaeus                     subspecies medor

   Cocytius antaeus       South USA       Short stripe between  
   ssp medor              to Uruguay      veins in translucent
                                          rear wings areas.
                                          
   Cocytiue beelzebuth    Widespread      No tramslucent areas
                          Neotropical     in rear wings

   Neococytius cluentus   South USA and   White Line in rear
                          most of the     wings. No translucent
                          tropics         areas.      

   Cocytius duponchel     Neotropical     Smaller than but close
                          Widespread      to C. antaeus

   Cocytius lucifer       Neotropical     Black dorsal
                          Widespread      abdomen line
  
   Cocytius mortuorum     Brazil, local

   Cocytius misionum      Northern
                          Argentina

   Cocytius macasensis    Ecuador, local

   Cocytius vitrinus      Cuba            Very pale

Sphingidae family contains approximately one thousand species of heavy-bodied moths with strong wings. They are very fast fliers. Most species can hover like hummingbirds. Many of them have a very long proboscis which can be inserted deep into a flower to sip the various nectars. Because of their excellent ability to fly, most species have rather large geographical ranges.  

Sphingidae herein are split into three major groups: New World Sphingidae, African Sphingidae, and Eurasia Sphingidae.

Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera) are a group of insects with four large wings. They go through various life cycles including eggs, caterpillar (larvae), pupae, and adult. Most butterflies and moths feed as adults, but primarily do most of their growing in the larval or caterpillar stage. Also, most species are restricted to feeding as caterpillars upon a unique set of plants. In this pairing of insects to plants, there arises a unique plant population control system. When one plant species becomes too common, specific pests to that species also become more common and thus prevent the further spreading of that particular plant species.

Although most people think of the Lepidoptera as two different groups: butterflies and moths, technically, the concept is not valid.

Some families, such as Silk Moths (Saturnidae) and Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), are clearly moths. Other families, such as Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae), are clearly butterflies, However, several families exhibit characteristics that appear to be neither moths nor butterflies. For example: the Castnia Moths of South America are frequently placed in the Skipper Family (Hesperidae). The Sunset Moths (Uranidae) have long narrow antennae and fly during the day.

Note: Numerous museums and biologists have loaned specimens to be photographed for this project.

Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000.

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

   Odonata:      Dragon and Damsel Flies
   Orthoptera:   Grasshoppers and Mantids
   Homoptera:    Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
   Diptera:      Flies and Mosquitoes
   Hymenoptera:  Ants, Wasps, and Bees
   Lepidoptera:  Butterflies and Moths
   Coleoptera:   Beetles

Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:

   Arachnida:      Spiders and Scorpions
   Crustacea:      Crabs and Crayfish
   Chilopoda:      Centipedes
   Diplopoda:      Millipedes
   Insecta:        Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

   Sub Phylum Chelicerata

     C. Arachnida:      Spiders and scorpions
     C. Pycnogonida:    Sea spiders (500 species)
     C. Merostomata:    Mostly fossil species

   Sub Phylum Mandibulata

     C. Crustacea:      Crabs and crayfish
      
   Myriapod Group

     C. Chilopoda:      Centipedes
     C. Diplopoda:      Millipedes
     C. Pauropoda:      Tiny millipede-like
     C. Symphyla:       Garden centipedes

   Insect Group

     C. Insecta:        Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.