Between Forests and Fields: The Distribution of Eumorpha (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) Moths Across Brazilian Biomes

TL;DR

This study explores the distribution of Eumorpha moths across Brazilian biomes, revealing gaps in research and highlighting the importance of combining data sources.

Contribution

The study compiles and analyzes occurrence records of Eumorpha moths in Brazil, revealing distribution patterns and emphasizing data integration.

Findings

Most Eumorpha species and records are concentrated in the Atlantic Forest and Amazon biomes.

Some species like Eumorpha vitis have wide distributions, while others like Eumorpha translineatus are more restricted.

Research on Eumorpha remains limited despite advances in digitizing national collections.

Abstract

The Sphingidae family of moths plays a vital role as pollinators; however, research focusing on certain genera within the family remains limited. This study adopted an integrative approach, drawing on literature, the SiBBr, GBIF, and SpeciesLink databases, and field collections to examine the distribution of Eumorpha Hübner, 1807 species across Brazil. A total of thirteen species is known to occur in the country, yet substantial knowledge gaps remain regarding their actual distribution. We compiled 623 occurrence records representing 14 species. Most species and occurrence records were concentrated in the Atlantic Forest and Amazon biomes. The results indicate that research directly focused on Eumorpha remains scarce and that, despite advances in the digitization of national collections, the number of related publications has not increased. This study provided important insights into the distribution of Eumorpha, showing that some species, such as Eumorpha vitis (Linnaeus) and Eumorpha fasciatus (Sulzer), have a wide distribution, while others, like Eumorpha translineatus (Rothschild), appear more restricted. In addition to contributing to the understanding of Eumorpha distribution in Brazil, the study also highlights the relevance of combining multiple data sources to address existing knowledge gaps.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13744-026-01362-1.

Figures