Manduca occulta (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903)

Separated from Manduca diffissa tropicalis only by the genitalia, with nothing constant in the colour and pattern of the wings and body to safely distinguish the two.Wings slightly wider than in Manduca diffissa tropicalis. Hindwing underside with brownish black bands often further apart than in Manduca diffissa tropicalis. Uncus obviously broader than in Manduca diffissa.Gnathos more slender than in Manduca diffissa, with the lateral margin less turned up.Harpe similar in shape to that in Manduca lucetius, Manduca hannibal and others; ventral finger-like process short, more or less rough, with notches and teeth at the dorsal edge; dentate lobe large, sickle-shaped, the dorsal edge doubled at apex, with some granules and teeth on the surface of the lobe near the dorsal edge; the lobe somewhat twisted apically, where it is almost vertical to the surface of the valve.Aedeagus with tooth broader than in Manduca diffissa. Abdomen with 8th tergite truncate, angles rounded, sides well sclerotised, the less sclerotised middle part impressed in dry specimens into a parallel sided groove, not triangular as in Manduca diffissa.Ante-ostial lobe triangular, rounded or weakly sinuate at end, surface variable in structure, but usually mesially carinate; oblique ridges high, forming a slanting cover over a deep transverse groove that lies proximal to them; at the proximal end of the groove there is a smooth, concave, transverse plate on each side that is rounded mesially; this plate is absent from Manduca diffissa.