Sphinginae subfamily
Sphingini tribe:
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Agrius cingulata, Duval Pink-spotted hawkmoth, stray.
Strong migrant; adults nectar from deep-throated flowers including moonflower (Calonyction aculeatum),
morning glory (Convolvulus), honey suckle (Lonicera) and petunia (Petunia species).
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Ceratomia amyntor WO, Elm Sphinx or Four-horned Sphinx.
Forewing upperside brown with dark brown and white markings including white costal area near wing base, dark streaks along veins,
a white spot in cell.
Larvae: Elm (Ulmus), birch (Betula), basswood (Tilia), and
cherry (Prunus). |
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The upperside of the forewing is yellowish brown with no white markings, but there are indistinct black lines and dashes. The cell spot is gray with a black outline. The larvae feed in large groups and are much more
spectacular than the moths.
Catalpa is the larval host. |
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Ceratomia undulosa
Duval, Waved Sphinx.
Forewing upperside pale brownish gray with wavy black
& white lines & black-outlined white cell spot. Hindwing upperside
gray with diffuse darker bands. |
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Dolba hyloeus
Duval/ Nassau, the Pawpaw Sphinx
The upperside of the forewing is dark brown with a dusting of white
scales. Some moths have patches of reddish or yellowish brown on the
wings.
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Isoparce cupressi
Duval, Cypress or Baldcypress Sphinx.
Isoparce cupressi, rare Cypress Sphinx, flies in Cypress swamps in Georgia (specimen type locality), and from Maryland to Texas.
It has been reported in Mexico.
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Lapara bombycoides
WO,
Northern Pine Sphinx. If you have pines, you might have this species.
slight possibility
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Lapara coniferarum
Duval/Nassau, Southern Pine Sphinx.
Forewing upperside gray with two (sometimes one or three) black dashes near wing center;
other markings are usually diffuse. Hindwing upperside uniform brown-gray.
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Manduca jasminearum
WO, Ash Sphinx.
The upperside of forewing is gray to grayish brown with a black line
running from the middle of the costa to the middle of the outer
margin; the line may be broken near the margin. There is a splash of
brown around the cell spot. might be present
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Manduca quinquemaculata WO,
Five-spotted Hawkmoth. I suspect if you grow tomatoes, you are likely to encounter Manduca quinquemaculata.
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Manduca rustica
Duval, Rustic Sphinx.
Look for three large yellow spots on each side of the abdomen. Forewing upperside
yellowish brown to deep chocolate brown with dusting of white
scales and zigzagged black and white lines.
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Manduca sexta
WO/SC/ Duval, Carolina Sphinx.
If you grow tomatoes, you have probably encountered Manduca sexta
in the larval stage.
Larvae get very large and can strip a tomato plant.
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Duval County, Sphingidae larvae, Jacksonville, August 18, 2008, Sabrina Carmichael
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Paratrea plebeja
Duval, Plebeian Sphinx.
The upperside of the forewing is gray with indistinct black and
white markings. There is a series of black dashes
from the base to the tip, and a small white cell spot.
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Sphinx chersis
WO, Northern Ash Sphinx or Great Ash Sphinx.
Forewing upperside soft dark gray to blue-gray with
series of black dashes, one of which reaches wing tip.
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Sphinx franckii
WO, Franck's Sphinx Moth.
The costal half of the forewings are grey, but the posterior portion
is a distinctive warm yellowish-brown; the boundary between these two
areas is marked with a series of dark diagonal streaks. Similar to
S. kalmiae but lacks the dark bar
along the fw inner margin. remote possibility |
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Sphinx gordius
WO,
Apple Sphinx.
The upperside of the forewing ranges from brown with black borders
through brownish gray with paler borders to pale gray with no
borders. probably uncommon |
Smerinthini Tribe:
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Amorpha juglandis
WO/Nassau/Duval, Walnut Sphinx.
The adults are also highly variable; sometimes wings of an individual
may be all one color or may have several colors, ranging from pale to
dark brown, and may have a white or pink tinge. Patterns range from faint to pronounced.
Female is different. |
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Pachysphinx modesta
WO,
the Modest Sphinx or Poplar Sphinx.
They are common on Prince Edward Island, and are
slight possibility for Duval County. |
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Paonias astylus flies from March-September in Florida and from
April-September in Louisiana. There is one brood northward from
June-August.
This appears to be an uncommon species.
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Paonias excaecata
Duval,
Blinded Sphinx.
Named for the dull grey-blue spot (minus dark pupil) in the hindwing,
this moth has a wide distribution in the eastern United States.
I regularly see them on Prince Edward Island, and they are reported
as far south as Florida. |
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Paonias myops
Duval, Small-eyed Sphinx.
Named for the small eye-spot in the hindwing, this moth has a wide
distribution and is probably common in Duval County.
I regularly see them on Prince Edward Island.
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Smerinthus jamaicensis
WO,
the Twin-spotted Sphinx.
This moth is widely distributed and fairly common.
Along the East Coast, it flies from P.E.I. to Florida. |
Macroglossinae subfamily
Dilophonotini tribe:
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Aellopos tantalus
WO, Tantalus Sphinx.
Body reddish brown with wide white band across abdomen.
Forewing upperside reddish brown with black cell spot & 3
white spots near gray marginal area. Pale streak runs from
cell spot to inner margin.
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Enyo lugubris, Mournful Sphinx,
WO/Duval.
Body & wings dark brown. Forewing: large black
patch covering most of outer half of wing. Pale
tan cell spot (dark inner pupil), and fairly straight median line
to inside of cell spot.
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Erinnyis alope
Duval, Alope Sphinx.
The upperside of the forewing is dark brown with short yellowish
streaks on the forward half and wavy yellowish bands on the rear
half.
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Erinnyis ello
Duval, Ello Sphinx.
The abdomen has very distinct gray and black bands. The female's
forewing upperside is pale gray with a few dark dots near the outer
margin.
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add alope and ello Duval
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Erinnyis obscura, Obscure Sphinx,
Duval.
At night adults nectar at flowers, including bouncing bet
(Saponaria officinalis), Asystasia gangetica beginning at dusk.
July and August are flight times in the southern states.
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See Hemaris comparison to help distinguish
the next three species.
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Hemaris gracilis
WO,
Slender Clearwing or Graceful Clearwing.
This day-flying moth is less common and has not been recorded in
Jackson County, but it may be present.
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Hemaris thysbe
WO, Hummingbird Clearwing
Easy to see why many gardeners would mistake an
Hemaris thysbe moth for a small hummingbird as it hovers,
sipping nectar from flowers through a long feeding tube.
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Hemaris diffinis
WO,
Snowberry Clearwing or Bumblebee Moth.
Adults mimic bumblebees; quite variable. Wings basically clear, with dark brown to
brownish-orange veins, bases and edges. Thorax golden-brown to
dark greenish-brown. Abdomen tends to be dark (black) with 1-2
yellow segments before the tip.
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Philampelini tribe:
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Eumorpha achemon
Duval,
Achemon Sphinx.
Larvae get large & feed on grape vines and Virginia creeper.
Note the differences between this moth and the Pandorus Sphinx. |
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Eumorpha fasciatus
WO/Nassau/Duval, Banded Sphinx.
Upperside dark pinkish brown. Forewing:
lighter brown band along costa, & sharp pinkish white bands &
streaks. Larvae : primrose-willow, Ludwigia (water primrose),
other plants in evening primrose family.
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Eumorpha intermedia
WO, the Intermediate Sphinx
The Intermediate Sphinx Moth, (Eumorpha intermedia),
(Wing span: 3 9/16 - 3 7/8 inches (9 - 9.8 cm)), flies in lower austral and subtropical lowlands in North Carolina, Florida,
Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Texas. posibility
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Eumorpha pandorus
MG, Pandorus Sphinx.
If you have Grape or Virginia Creeper nearby, then you probably have
this species.
I often get asked to identify larvae from areas not
previously reported. |
Eumorpha pandorus, April 11, 2007, Maggie Garancosky and Jack Schudel.
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Eumorpha vitis
WO, Vine Sphinx.
The upperside of the moth is dark pinkish brown. Each forewing has a
lighter brown band along the costa, and sharp pinkish white bands
and streaks. |
Macroglossini tribe:
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Amphion floridensis
Duval,
Nessus Sphinix.
This day flier is widely distributed. If you have Virginia Creeper, you
probably have the Nessus Sphinx. Two bright, distinct, narrow yellow
bands are often visible on the abdomen.
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This species is rarely recorded in the U.S., but there are sightings
in the east from Florida, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York,
Massachusetts and
New Hampshire.
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The lower wings of this hawkmoth are a solid brownish-orange,
matching the body colour.
You will often see this species listed as Darapsa pholus,
especially in older literature. |
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Darapsa myron
Duval, the Virginia Creeper Sphinx or the Grapevine Sphinx
If you have the foodplants indicated in the common names, you probably have this species nearby. The lower wings are orange. |
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Darapsa versicolor
WO, Hydrangea Sphinx.
If you have hydrangea growing near a stream, then you might have the
Hydrangea Sphinx.
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Deidamia inscriptum
USGS,
Lettered Sphinx.
Moth's outer margin of forewing deeply scalloped.
The upperside is light brown with dark brown markings.
Small black and white spot near tip.
Grape (Vitis), ampelopsis (Ampelopsis), Virginia creeper
(Parthenocissus) all serve as larval hosts. |
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Hyles lineata
WO, White-lined Sphinx.
This species has strong migrating tendancies from much further
south.
There are records from New Hampshire and Maine. |
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Proserpinus guarae
WO,
Proud Sphinx.
Rare, possibly endangered Proud Sphinx flies from Texas and
Louisiana east to northern Florida, north to Alabama, Missouri,
northern Georgia, South Carolina. slight possibility
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Sphecodina abbottii
WO,
Abbott's Sphinx.
Very much under reported across the United States. It
is a rapid day flier so is probably not in too many collections.
Grape is a popular larval host.
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Xylophanes pluto
WO, Pluto Sphinx.
The upperside of forewing olive green with paler median band
and pale lines with purple shading along them. The upperside of the
hindwing has a white spot surrounded by black at the base, wide
orangish yellow median band, & brown to greenish band along
outer margin.
Head & flared thorax of larva suggest appearance of a snake.
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Xylophanes tersa
Duval/Nassau,
Tersa Sphinx.
This moth is much more common to the south. It is a strong
migrant, however, and is probably well established in Duval County.
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