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Species Syssphinx hubbardi - Hubbard's Small Silkmoth - Hodges#7711

bloodshot eyed moth - Syssphinx hubbardi - male

bloodshot eyed moth - Syssphinx hubbardi

Syssphinx (Sphingacampa) hubbardi - Syssphinx hubbardi

Hubbard's small silkmoth caterpillar - Syssphinx hubbardi

Recently hatched larva - Syssphinx hubbardi

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 Saturniidae (Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths)

Subfamily Ceratocampinae (Royal Moths)

Genus Syssphinx

Species hubbardi (Hubbard's Small Silkmoth - Hodges#7711)

Hodges Number

7711

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Sphingicampa hubbardi (Dyar, 1903)

Syssphinx hubbardi

* formerly a subspecies of S. heiligbroti, Ferguson gave it the status of a full species in MONA fascicle 20.2A in 1971

* phylogenetic sequence #224325

Explanation of Names

Specific epithet hubbardi in honor of Henry Guernsey Hubbard.

Size

Wingspan 66-77 mm, males smaller than females.

Identification

Typical adults are darker than S. heiligbrodti. Most easily identified by range, with S. heiligbrodti restricted to central and south Texas, and S. hubbardi ranging from west Texas to Arizona. There is an overlap zone around Del Rio, TX.

Range

Extreme eastern California, southern Nevada and southern Arizona to western Texas.

Food

Larvae feed on Wright's acacia, honey mesquite and catclaw acacia.

Life Cycle

Remarks

Larvae flouresce under UV light making them easy to collect (1)

Print References

Ferguson, D. C. 1971. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 20.2a: p. 44; pl.4.3-5

Knudson & Bordelon (2)

Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. pl.36.11m, p.237 (3)

Tuskes, pp. 87-88, plate 11--adult, plate 2--larva, map 8 (1)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group species page

Moths of Maryland - specimen from Arizona

Silkmoths Website - size

Works Cited

1.	The Wild Silk Moths of North America: A Natural History of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada Paul M. Tuskes, James P. Tuttle, Michael M. Collins. 1996. Cornell University Press.

2.	Illustrated Checklist of the Lepidoptera of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Vol. 2B: Macro-Moths Ed Knudson & Charles Bordelon. 2004. Texas Lepidoptera Survey, Houston. xiv + 59 pp. 20 plates.

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

Contributed by john and jane balaban on 14 October, 2006 - 3:44pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Tom Bentley, Joshua Stuart Rose, Randy Hardy
Last updated 10 October, 2014 - 11:54pm

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