Identification
Adult: forewing olive green with darker green apical patch and border along inner margin, broken near anal angle; pink streaks near middle of wing and at inner margin; double black discal spot; hindwing whitish basally, green distally, with two large black patches, and some pink at anal angle
[adapted from description by Charles Covell]
Larva: body bright green or reddish-brown with swollen third thoracic segment into which head and first 2 thoracic segments can be drawn; abdomen with small white to yellow spot on segment 2 and large oval spots around spiracle on third to seventh segments; whiplike horn of early instars replaced with button in last stage; thorax and anterior abdominal segments with dorsal black spotting
[adapted from description by David Wagner and Valerie Giles]
Range
Eastern United States (Maine to Florida, west to Texas, north to Nebraska and Wisconsin) plus Ontario and Nova Scotia
Season
adults fly from May to October
larvae present from June to November
Food
Larvae feed on leaves of peppervine (Ampelopsis spp.), grape (Vitis spp.), and Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).
Life Cycle
one generation per year in the north; two generations in the south
Remarks
An extra-spectacular sphinx moth.
See Also
Virginia Creeper Sphinx, also known as Hog Sphinx (
Darapsa myron) is smaller, lacks complex pattern of lines and patches on forewing, and has orange on hindwing (
compare images of both species at CBIF)
Print References
Covell, p. 40, plate 3 #13.
(1)
Salsbury, p. 327--photo of adult
(2)
Wagner, p. 16--photo of larva
(3)Internet References
pinned adult image by Paul Opler, plus US distribution map (butterfliesandmoths.org)
adult images (Larry Line, Maryland)
pinned adult image of specimen collected in Maryland (Dale Clark, Texas)
distribution in Canada Ontario and Nova Scotia only (CBIF)
