DISTRIBUTION: Syssphinx montana (wingspan: males: 53-65mm; females: 59-75mm) flies in Mexico: Sonora (Alamos), Jalisco, and probably Sinaloa and Nayarit; and strays into the U.S., with specimens taken in Santa Cruz, Arizona. Jacqueline Y. Miller reports it in Honduras, so it would probably also be in Guatemala. In some taxonomies this moth is listed as Sphingicampa montana. To the right, courtesy of Joel Szymczyk, female Sphingicampa montana on sheet at Harshaw, Arizona, 20 July 03.

Syssphinx montana male, Pena Blanca Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona,
August 6, 2004, courtesy of Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Syssphinx montana moths fly from mid July to early August. In Mexico the host plants are Haematoxylum brasalita and Cassia emarginata.

Syssphinx montana female, southeast Arizona, courtesy of Steve Huffman.

Syssphinx montana male, September 5, 5007,
southern Arizona, e. p., courtesy of Horst Kach.

Robert J. Nuelle, III sent me this very interesting image of a melanic male.

Matt Curtis sent me these two unusual Sphingicampa montana from Pena Blanca Cyn., Arizona. Male from 8/11/02 and female 7/23/03 (below). I have read in Tuskes, Tuttle and Collins The Wild Silk Moths of North America that reared specimens tend to be darker than naturally occuring specimens. Perhaps someone in Arizona is doing some live releases or the population is naturally growing with more of the darker specimens appearing.

Tuskes, Tuttle and Collins report variations in the amount of specking on all wings.

Matt Curtis images, digital reconstruction of left hindwing (male) by Bill Oehlke

Some further investigation:

Scott Smith, January 9, 2005 writes, "I have collected thousands of these, nearly no two are alike but the "typical" form I've seen (wild specimens) have been the lighter/yellow/buff background shades. The grey or darker ones are not as common but not rare either. Hope this helps!"

Chris Conlan, January 10, 2005 writes, "The dark form of montana is not very common except in years when the species is very abundant. I have never encountered one before but some friends have."

Kirby Wolfe writes, January 10, 2005, "The difference that Tuskes et al are referring to is a darker overall color often seen in reared specimens, which I believe is mostly caused by keeping pupae in cooler conditions than normal just before eclosion. But the specimens in your images are much darker than that on the wings and still very light on the thorax and abdomen. If there are many of these in the same area, they could represent a local population aberration. "

Jim Tuttle writes, January 17, 2005, "Well within the range of considerable variation for montana... they can be all over the place."

Syssphinx montana female, Pena Blanca Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona,
August 5, 2005, courtesy of Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

These moths tend to eclose in the evening with scenting and mating occuring the same night around 11:00 pm.

Syssphinx montana male, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae mature (60 mm) in under three weeks, and the entire development from egg to pupa can be as short as one month. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon. In the early instars, larvae which have hatched from green, translucent eggs, have elongated thoracic scoli which project forward over the head.

Larvae colouration and shape seem to be influenced by foodplants, i.e., larvae on locust and acacia and mimosa type foliage have elongated and silvered scoli while those on broad leafed plants have much shorter scoli with greatly reduced silver.

I personally believe there is an "active intelligence" at work in larval and adult colouration whereby animals can mimic habitat colors and that "recorded" experiences can be transmitted from one generation to another.

Here on P.E.I. I rear many Pachysphinx modesta. Young larvae often rest on center veins on the upper surface of poplar leaves. Yellow leaf vein colouration is identical to yellow markings on young larvae. As larvae mature, they hide below leaves which have a much paler underside with muted white veins. Larvae are pale green in late instars. I do not believe this development is simply the result of natural selection and "survival of the fittest".

Syssphinx montana, fifth instar, Florida Canyon, Pima County, Arizona,
September 3, 2011, courtesy/copyright Margarethe Brummermann, Tucson, AZ.

Margarethe had asked for some id assistance to distinguish between montana and hubbardi larvae, and I wrote back:

"Tuskes, Tuttle and Collins report variability amongst larvae of same species, often associated with foodplant, but generally the ones like your larva from Peppersauce Canyon with purplish red and green colour (sometimes yellow and green) on enlarged thoracic scoli represent hubbardi; while those with green at base, then entire shaft of thoracic scoli red as per your Florida Canyon larva are most often montana. Comments apply to mature larvae. You might have to rear some through with documentation to see how consistent those characters are. Montana most likely to be on low growing acacia and honey locust; Hubbardi most often on Honey Mesquite and Wight’s Acacia."

Margarethe replies, "Thanks, Bill, The distinction between low and high Acacias/ Mesquites fits exactly for Peppersauce Canyon versus Florida Canyon larvae, and we had montana adults only in Florida Canyon (all Arizona)."

Visit Syssphinx montana male and female and instars 2, 4 & 5, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Acacia baileyana Acacia farnesiana Albizia Cassia emarginats Gleditsia triacanthos Haematoxylum brasalita..... Haematoxylum brasiletto Robinia pseudoacacia

Bailey's acacia Sweet acacia Powderpuff-tree Laburnum Honeylocust Haematoxylum Mexican logwood Black locust/false acacia

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The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

The genus name "Syssphinx" was probably chosen for the similarity of these moths (wing shape and resting position) to moths in the Sphingidae family.

The species name "montana" probably indicates a montaine species.