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Species Lintneria eremitus - Hermit Sphinx - Hodges#7796

Hermit Sphinx Caterpillar - Lintneria eremitus Pennsylvania Caterpillar - green form - Lintneria eremitus Unknown caterpillar - Lintneria eremitus Lintneria eremitus Butterfly or Moth? - Lintneria eremitus Black caterpillar with tail - Lintneria eremitus Pennsylvania Caterpillar - Lintneria eremitus Lintneria eremitus? - Lintneria eremitus
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 Sphinginae
Tribe Sphingini
Genus Lintneria
Species eremitus (Hermit Sphinx - Hodges#7796)
Hodges Number
7796
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Sphinx eremitus(1)
Now in combination with a feminine genus the correct name would be Lintneria eremita.
Numbers
one of five species in the genus for North America north of Mexico.(1)
Size
Wingspan 65-75 mm
Identification
FW grayish/brown with black dashes and lines. Reniform spot white, sometimes doubled. HW black with two broad white bands, inner band enclosing a black triangle at base of wing (2). Note the golden hair on the thorax. a
Range
Novia Scotia south in mountains to North Carolina, west to Manitoba, Arkansas, rare southward. Distribution spotty.
Habitat
Moist meadows, fields, gardens.
Season
July-August. One brood in most of range, two broods southward (Missouri).
Food
Adults take nectar, typically from deep-throated flowers.
Life Cycle
Larvae feed on mint family, Lamiaceae: Bee-balm, Monarda, mints, Mentha, sage, Salvia.
Remarks
the species of eremitus was included in the genus Sphinx until 2007(1)
Print References
Covell, p. 34, plate 5 (2)
Wagner, Caterpillars of Eastern North America, p. 257--photo of adult (specimen) and caterpillar (3)
Internet References
Sphingidae of the Americas - Bill Oehlke's species page
Works Cited
1.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.
2.Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths
Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.
3.Caterpillars of Eastern North America
David L. Wagner. 2005. Princeton University Press.