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Species Sphinx luscitiosa - Clemens' Sphinx - Hodges#7811
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Bombycoidea (Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths)
Family Sphingidae (Sphinx Moths)
Subfamily Sphinginae
Tribe Sphingini
Genus Sphinx
Species luscitiosa (Clemens' Sphinx - Hodges#7811)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Sphinx luscitiosa Clemens, 1859
Phylogenetic sequence # 227325 Explanation of Names described by Clemens in 1859 Numbers Sixteen Sphinx species occur in America north of Mexico. Size wingspan 56-80 mm ( U. of Alberta); female larger than male Identification Adult: forewing mostly yellowish-gray in male; pale gray with slight yellow tint in female; black shading beyond PM line widens toward inner margin in both sexes; hindwing deep yellow in male, pale yellow in female; outer border black, broad in both sexes (1)
one of the few species of Sphinx that shows significant sexual dimorphism
Larva: body bright green with several red and whitish diagonal dashes along side; horn on last abdominal segment; skin grainy/rough in fourth instar, smooth in final (fifth) instar Range Yukon and Alberta to Nova Scotia, south to New Jersey, west to Utah and Montana (may have occurred south "to the Carolinas" as stated below by Holland more than 100 years ago, but the species name does not appear on current lists from South Carolina, North Carolina, or Maryland, and probably doesn't occur in these areas today)
Holland's The Moth Book (1903) says "The insect occurs from Canada to the Carolinas, and westward through the eastern portion of the valley of the Mississippi." (2)Habitat clearings, edges and meadows in wooded areas
males are mainly diurnal and have been collected while nectaring at flowers; females are active in the evening and at night, and have been collected only at lights Season adults fly in June and July (1)Food larvae feed on leaves of apple, ash, northern bayberry, birch, poplar, wax myrtle, willow, and other plants
Holland states "The caterpillar feeds upon various species of willow." (2)
adults take nectar from flowers such as dandelion, lilac, and Russian-olive, and have been reported on multiple occasions feeding on decaying fish Life Cycle one generation per year; overwinters as a pupa in underground cell
Larva (new-born); Larva (pre-pupal):
Remarks Global Rank: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range, or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). Threatened throughout its range.
Print References W.J. Holland. The Moth Book (1903) (2)
Hodges, R. W., 1971. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 21:p. 68; pl. 5.10, 13, 16. (3)
Tuttle, J. P., 2007. Hawk Moths of North America: p. 88; pl. 6.1, 4. (4)Internet References Moth Photographers Group - range map, photos of living and pinned adults.
pinned adult images of male [top] and female (CBIF)
live adult, larva, and pupa images plus description, biology, distribution, hostplants (Bill Oehlke, silkmoths.bizland.com)
pinned adult images of female [top] and male, plus habitat, description, distribution, biology, hostplants, behavior, common name reference (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)
US distribution map plus description, biology, flight season, hostplants, status (butterfliesandmoths.org)
distribution in Canada list of provinces and territories (CBIF)
BOLD - Barcode of Life Data Systems - species account with collection map and photos of pinned adults. Works Cited | 2. | The Moth Book
W. J. Holland. 1922. Doubleday, Page & Company. | |
| 3. | The Moths of America North of Mexico Fascicle 21 Sphingidae
Ronald W. Hodges. 1971. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. | |
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