Syssphinx bisecta
sis-SFINKSMbye-SECK-tuh
(Lintner, 1879) Sphingicampa

Bisected Honey Locust Moth courtesy of John Campbell.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Ceratocampinae, Harris, 1841 was Syssphinginae: Packard, 1905 Genus: Syssphinx, Hubner [1819] 1816

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DISTRIBUTION:

Syssphinx bisecta (wingspan: males: 47-60mm; females: 53-78mm) is the only member of this genus whose range is restricted to the U.S. Adults fly mainly in the Midwest with northernmost populations in southern Wisconsin. The species is then found south and east to the Appalachian mountains; east of Appalachia the moth is taken infrequently.

Syssphinx bisecta male, Six Mile, Sabine County, Texas,
August 23, 1987, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

Syssphinx bisecta male, Engeling, Anderson County, Texas,
August 14, 1987, WMA, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

A single Syssphinx bisecta brood flies in the north from mid-July to mid-August. Further south there are two broods with adults on the wing in April and June and then again from July through September. Syssphinx bisecta larvae feed on Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos), Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), and Coffee tree (Gymnocladus canadensis).

Syssphinx bisecta, St.Martin's Parish, Louisiana,
July 2, 2005, courtesy of Robert Nuelle.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Sphingicampa bisecta adults emerge in late afternoon, and males and females become active after dark with most matings between 10:00pm and 2:00 am. Pairs tend to remain coupled until the following evening.

This species is easy to rear in captivity and matings take place even in very small cages.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Beginning at dusk females lay greenish eggs either singly or in pairs. Incubation can be as short as five days. Typical of sphingicampa larvae behaviour, the larvae notch the petioles of leaflets so that they can bend them back and feed near the protection of the main leaf stem rather than at the exposed leaf tip.

Larvae pupate in small chambers underground.

Syssphinx bisecta, Shelby Forest, Shelby County, Tennessee, courtesy of Jim Tuttle.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Gleditsia triacanthos...... Gymnocladus canadensis..... Gymnocladus dioica Robinia pseudoacacia

Honeylocust Coffee tree Kentucky Coffee Tree Black locust

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