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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths (Bombycoidea) » Sphinx Moths (Sphingidae) » Smerinthinae » Smerinthini » Smerinthus » Smerinthus ophthalmica - Hodges#7822.1 (Smerinthus ophthalmica)
Photo#146613
One-Eyed Sphinx Moth - Smerinthus ophthalmica - male
Copyright © 2007 Aaron Schusteff

One-Eyed Sphinx Moth - Smerinthus ophthalmica - Male
SFSU Field Campus, near Bassetts, Sierra County, California, USA
July 9, 2007
A tap or sudden movement prompted the moth to spread its fore wings and reveal the eyespots of the hind wings. Blurring my eyes a bit, this looks like a small (and albeit colorful) cat or raccoon-like head...which might startle and scare me off if I were a bird.

I believe this is a male, due to the way it holds its abdomen in a curved position when at rest (a male behavioral trait according to various sources I found on the web).
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Contributed by Aaron Schusteff on 19 September, 2007 - 4:25am
Last updated 24 September, 2021 - 4:41pm

Moved
Moved from One-eyed Sphinx.
… Steve Nanz, 24 September, 2021 - 4:41pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks, Steve
Looking at this again, it occurs to me that the moth's legs (and, less so, antennae) add a nice "whiskers" effect to the "blurred cat-face" scare-tactic here ;-).
… Aaron Schusteff, 24 September, 2021 - 4:56pm login or register to post comments

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