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Species Hyles gallii - Galium Sphinx - Hodges#7893

Galium Sphinx - Hodges#7893 - Hyles gallii

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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 Macroglossinae

Tribe Macroglossini

Genus Hyles

Species gallii (Galium Sphinx - Hodges#7893)

Hodges Number

7893

Other Common Names

Gallium Sphinx (a misspelling of the plant genus Galium)

Bedstraw Hawkmoth

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Hyles gallii (Rottemburg, 1775)

Sphinx gallii Rottemburg, 1775

Deilephila gallii

Explanation of Names

Specific epithet gallii is based on a misspelling of the host plant genus Galium. (1)

Identification

Broad, somewhat uneven tan stripe on forewing.

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.(2)

Range

n. US / Canada (3)

Season

Common May-August (4)

Food

Larvae feed on Bedstraw (Rubiaceae: Galium spp.), Willow-herb/Fireweed (Chamerion and Epilobium spp.), and other plants in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family). (3)

See Also

White-lined Sphinx (5). 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.

Print References

Covell, p. 44. (3)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group - MPG

University of Alberta Info

Wikipedia

Photo at Russian Insects

Works Cited

1.	An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names. Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.

2.	Caterpillars of Eastern North America David L. Wagner. 2005. Princeton University Press.

3.	Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.

4.	Smithsonian Department of Systematic Biology: Entomology

5.	White-lined Sphinx

Contributed by Lynette Elliott on 17 September, 2005 - 9:07pm
Additional contributions by Mike Boone, Hannah Nendick-Mason, john and jane balaban, Beatriz Moisset, anitagould, Mike Quinn, Nick Block, ceiseman, Randy Hardy
Last updated 1 November, 2020 - 4:46pm

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