HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths (Bombycoidea) » Sphinx Moths (Sphingidae) » Macroglossinae » Macroglossini » Euproserpinus » Phaeton Primrose Sphinx - Hodges#7880 (Euproserpinus phaeton)

Species Euproserpinus phaeton - Phaeton Primrose Sphinx - Hodges#7880

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Phaeton Primrose Sphinx Moths Mating - Euproserpinus phaeton - male - female

Euproserpinus phaeton - Euproserpinus phaeton - male

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

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 Euproserpinus

Species phaeton (Phaeton Primrose Sphinx - Hodges#7880)

Hodges Number

7880

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Euproserpinus phaeton Grote(1) & Robinson, 1865 (2)

Macroglossa erato Boisduval, 1868

Euproserpinus mojave Comstock, 1938

Numbers

There are three named Euproserpinus species in America north of Mexico. (2)

Size

Wingspan 3.2 - 4.2 cm. (2)

Last instar length 30 mm.

Identification

The revised 1868 "redescription" of this species by Grote & Robinson is here (and their original 1865 description is here).

Caterpillar ref image:

Mating pair ref image:

Range

Southern California and southwestern Arizona to Baja California. (3), (4), (2)

Moth Photographers Group - large map with some distribution data.

Season

Adults are most common from February to April. (MPG)

Food

Larval host plants include members of Camissonia and Oenothera in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae).(5)

Comstock & Dammers (1934) stated that Hulbirt had recorded larvae on Camissonia (Oenothera) bistorta (Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray) P.H. Raven.

Life Cycle

Comstock & Dammers (1934) description of the life cycle is available online in the "Print references" section below.

Remarks

Adults are diurnal. (2)

See Also

Euproserpinus euterpe Hy. Edwards, 1888

Compare on the plates of Moth Photographers Group.

Print References

Comstock, J.A. & C.M. Dammers (1934). Notes on the early stages of three butterflies and five moths from California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 33: 141.

Comstock, J. A. (1938). A new race of Euproserpinus phaeton from the Mojave Desert. Bull. So. Calif. Acad. Sci., 37: 33-42. (Full Text)

Grote, A.R. & C.T. Robinson (1865). A Synonymical Catalogue of North American Sphingidae, with Notes and Descriptions. Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila., 5:178. [Orig. Description]

Grote, A.R. & C.T. Robinson (1868). Description of American Lepidoptera No. 4. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 2: 181. [Revised Description]

Hodges, R.W. (1971). The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 21. p. 142; pl. 13.10, 12. (2)

McFarland, Noel (1966). The pupae of Euproserpinus phaeton mojave (Sphingidae). J. Res. Lep., 5(4): 249-252. (Full Text)

Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler (2009). Moths of Western North America. pl. 41.11m; p. 246. (5)

Tuttle, J.P. (2007). The Hawk Moths of North America, A Natural History Study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada. p. 194; pl. 3.7-9. (6)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group

Bill Oehlke's website

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)

Works Cited

1.	Augustus Radcliffe Grote, Lepidopterist (1841-1903)

2.	The Moths of America North of Mexico Fascicle 21 Sphingidae Ronald W. Hodges. 1971. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.

3.	Essig Museum of Entomology, California Moth Species List

4.	North American Moth Photographers Group

5.	Moths of Western North America Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.

6.	The Hawk Moths of North America, A Natural History Study of the Sphingidae of the United States and Canada. James P Tuttle. 2007. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation Inc.

Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 13 March, 2010 - 6:34pm
Additional contributions by Aaron Schusteff
Last updated 12 November, 2022 - 12:57pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version