#Sphinx moth

[onenicebugperday]

@silvarius submitted: I think it's a type of sphinx moth? He was fairly large. Southwestern PA.

It is! A white-lined sphinx :)

[textless]

A sphinx moth enjoying moonflowers in the garden.

Cochise County, Arizona, September 2023.

[autisticplants]

i found lots of different Eumorpha fasciatus caterpillar color morphs today!

[platycryptus]

time lapse of a banded sphinx moth caterpillar (Eumorpha fasciatus) devouring a water primrose leaf

(Florida, 9/18/22)

E. fasciatus caterpillars are heavily polymorphic and come in several different color morphs- those stripy rainbow ones are from the same population as the green one.

another neat thing about these guys is that most caterpillars drown easily, but since water primrose (Ludwigia) usually grows in standing water, E. fasciatus caterpillars have a propensity for swimming and are often seen wriggling their way through lakes when they need to come ashore to pupate.

[herpsandbirds]

Oleander Sphinx Moth (Daphnis nerii), family Sphingidae, India

photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar 

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

I was coming back in after a disappointing night at the lights last week, and came across this glorious chonkbeast on some Virginia creeper growing under my porch. This is a Pandora sphinx moth caterpillar (Eumorpha pandorus). Look at its squishy little donut feeties!!

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

[mothmonarch]

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[moths-daily]

Moth Of The Day #124

Pandora Sphinx Moth / Pandorus Sphinx Moth

Eumorpha pandorus

From the sphingidae family. They have a wingspan of 8.3-11.7 cm. They can be found throughout most of North America.

[bugkeeping]

Carolina sphinx Manduca sexta

[miyrumiyru]

80mm wingspan moth is casually charge to your face ♥

줄박각시 (Theretra japonica)

[onenicebugperday]

@professionallerkur submitted: Photodump of all the recent cool bugs I've seen. I'd appreciate IDs for the first 2, the tiny golden beetle was found in Great Sand Dunes NP, Colorado, and the red beetle was on Mt. Flora, also in CO. Cheers!

That's a good bunch of buggies! I love them all but especially the sphinx moth. The first photo looks like one of the ant-like flower beetles which is a great name since it's a fairly good ant mimic! Probably Amblyderus triplehorni, though there may be a similar looking species in the same genus. The second beetle looks like a red turnip beetle.

[sixteenseveredhands]

Abbott's Sphinx Moth: this caterpillar has a false eye on its rump; it mimics the features of a vertebrate's eye, and even includes a white reflection spot

The formal name for this species is Sphecodina abbottii.

From Minnesota Seasons:

The caterpillar is up to 3″ (7.5 cm) long. Middle stage (instar) caterpillars are whitish to bluish-green. In place of the horn found on other sphinx caterpillars, there is a raised orange knob on the eighth abdominal segment (A8). Final instar caterpillars come in two color forms. The brown color form has longitudinal streaks of light and dark brown mimicking the color of a woody vine. The green form has on each abdominal segment a large, pale green, saddle-shaped spot on the upper side and a similar smaller spot on each side. The pattern is said to mimic a bunch of unripe grapes. Both forms have a black, raised, eye-like knob on A8 complete with a small white spot mimicking reflected light.

When the caterpillar is pinched or poked, it often squeaks and bites at the attacker.

The fully-developed moth also has a unique appearance -- it has an ash-grey/blue coloration with streaks of pink and black.

Sources & More Info:

Encyclopedia of Life: Sphecodina abbottii

Insect Identification: Abbott's Sphinx Moth

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Saukeville Field Station

Minnesota Seasons: Abbott's Sphinx Moth

University of Minnesota Garden Extension: Abbott's Sphinx

[beausbugbiome]

Hello its me again! found this female at work one morning Google kept telling me it was some kind of regal moth but didn't specify

Thought I ask you on this have a nice evening/night

Hi, friend! I think this lovely creature is a Syssphinx bicolor or Honey Locust Moth! I’m not terribly familiar with moths, not as much as beetles, anyway. So I had to do a tiny bit of digging, but it was fun!

Thank you for asking, I love these messages! Hope you also have a wonderful night!💖

[dazzelmethat]

A very pretty tersa sphinx moth I found this morning.

[herpsandbirds]

Galium Sphinx Moth aka Bedstraw Hawk Moth (Hyles gallii), family Sphingidae, OR, USA

photograph by David Goin