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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) » Macroglossinae » Macroglossini » Xylophanes » Tersa Sphinx - Hodges#7890 (Xylophanes tersa)
Photo#150120
Sphinx - Xylophanes tersa
Copyright © 2007 Gw Ponder

Sphinx - Xylophanes tersa
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
October 2, 2007
Size: Approximately 1.4 inch
Here's another picture which might make identification easier. These guys are slow moving and find a leaf to sleep under during the day. They anchor themselves to the plants stem with thier hind legs which gave me the appearance they were about to go into a cocoon. The three I found last night all had the spike tail and had ribbed bodies which was great camoflague amongst the leafs.

Images of this individual: tag all
Sphinx - Xylophanes tersa Sphinx - Xylophanes tersa Sphinx - Xylophanes tersa Sphinx - Xylophanes tersa
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Contributed by Coppertop on 4 October, 2007 - 7:53am
Last updated 1 July, 2012 - 8:39pm

Moved
Moved from Pluto Sphinx.
… john and jane balaban, 1 July, 2012 - 8:40pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Tersa Sphinx.
… john and jane balaban, 1 July, 2012 - 8:37pm login or register to post comments

What are they eating?
The food plant often helps pin down the ID. I'm pretty sure this is not the Tersa Sphinx, but look how similar the horn is to the one on my picture, below. I'm searching for a match in its close relatives right now. Possibly Xylophanes pluto - we don't have a larval image on this site, but compare here, particularly the image titled "Green form third instar." One more shot of its back seen from above would also help.

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 4 October, 2007 - 10:09am login or register to post comments

 
What are they eating?
I'll see if I have the plant tag at home but it's a flowering plant that was on "clearance" at Home Depot. It was a last minute purchase this past Spring to fill an empty spot in the garden.

I'll work on the shot from above.
… Coppertop, 4 October, 2007 - 12:10pm login or register to post comments

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