Species Hyles gallii - Gallium Sphinx - Hodges#7893

Caterpillars are brown, black or sometimes green, always with shiny skin and a black or red horn. Brightly patterned including a row of whitish subdorsal spots, the last one often stretched out towards base of horn. Head and anal plate usually reddish but sometimes lavender-purple.(1)

Holarctic, as far south as Iowa. (2)

Common May-August (3)

Larvae feed on Willow-herb/Fireweed (Epilobium spp.), Bedstraw (Gallium spp.), and other plants in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family). (2)

White-lined Sphinx (4). Has a narrower and more even stripe on the forewing, plus white lines.

Larvae of Hyles euphorbiae (below) are similar but have a red dorsal stripe and each white subdorsal spot has a second beneath it.

Covell, p. 44. (2)

MPG Species Page

University of Alberta Info