The Sphingidae of Kansas


Amphion floridensis moth courtesy of Bill Oehlke.

Click on one of the Scientific names to see images and access information. N.B., the files are not linked back to this page. To return to this index, simply use your browser back button.

Please help me improve this site by sending sighting data (species; location [county]; date) to Bill Oehlke. Images are also greatly appreciated and will be used and credited (with permission) on county pages. I will attempt to identify any Sphingidae larvae or adults that are unknown to you.

Below the tables of scientific names, there is a listing of common names.

Sphinginae subfamily

Sphingini tribe:

Agrius cingulata
Ceratomia catalpae
Ceratomia hageni
Ceratomia undulosa
Manduca albiplaga
Manduca quinquemaculatawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Paratrea plebeja
Sphinx chersis
Sphinx drupiferarum
Sphinx eremitoides

Smerinthini Tribe:

Amorpha juglandis
Pachysphinx modesta
Paonias excaecata
Smerinthus jamaicensis







Macroglossinae subfamily

Dilophonotini tribe:mm

Erinnyis obscura obscura
Hemaris thysbe
Hemaris diffinis

Philampelini tribe:mm

Macroglossini tribe:

Amphion floridensis
Darapsa myron
Deidamia inscriptum
Hyles lineata
Proserpinus juanita
Sphecodina abbottii

Return to Index by Nation

Return to U. S. A. Table

Return to Main Sphingidae Index

Common names

Pink-spotted hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata)
Catalpa sphinx (Ceratomia catalpae)
Hagen's sphinx (Ceratomia hageni)
Waved sphinx (Ceratomia undulosa)
White-plagued sphinx (Manduca albiplaga)
Five-spotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata)
Plebeian sphinx (Paratrea plebeja)
Sage sphinx (Sphinx eremitoides)
Great ash sphinx (Sphinx chersis)
Wild cherry sphinx (Sphinx drupiferarum)

Walnut sphinx (Amorpha juglandis)
Modest sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta)
Blinded sphinx (Paonias excaecata)
Twin-spotted sphinx (Smerinthus jamaicensis)

Obscure sphinx (Erinnyis obscura)
Snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis)
Hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe)

Nessus sphinx (Amphion floridensis)
Virginia creeper sphinx (Darapsa myron)
Lettered sphinx (Deidamia inscriptum)
White-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata)
Juanita sphinx (Proserpinus juanita)
Abbott's sphinx (Sphecodina abbottii)

Individual county checklists: Counties will be completed as sightings arrive. Currently only those in red are active.

Northwestern Kansas

Cheyenne
Sherman
Wallace

Rawlins
Thomas
Logan

Decatur
Sheridan
Greeley

Norton
Trego
Wichita

Graham
Gove
Scott

Northern Central Kansas

Phillips
Russell
Cloud

Smith
Jewel
Ottawa

Rooks
Mitchell
Washington

Osborne
Lincoln
Clay

Ellis
Republic
Dickinson

Northeastern Kansas

Marshall
Riley
Jackson
Osage

Nemaha
Pottawatomie
Shawnee
Douglas

Brown
Geary
Jefferson
Johnson

Doniphan
Wabaunsee
Leavenworth
Franklin

Atchison
Morris
Wyandotte
Miami

Southeastern Kansas

Marion
Linn
Cowley
Crawford

Chase
Butler
Elk
Montgomery

Lyon
Greenwood
Chautauqua
Labette

Coffey
Allen
Wilson
Cherokee

Anderson
Bourbon
Neosho

Paratrea plebeja, Emporia (Lyon County) Kansas, courtesy of Antonia Felix,
id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by James P. Tuttle.

August 26, 2007, Antonia writes, "I enjoyed finding your site and would love to hear from you to help me identify the sphinx caterpillar I found among the vines on my porch this morning. I'm down in eastern Kansas in the middle of the U.S. He looks a lot like the Sphinx poecila, of which you have a photo on your site. What do you think? Thanks for your time."

I explained to Antonia that many of the Sphingidae larvae are quite similar, and that the range of Sphinx poecila is further to the north. I also suggested that the vines on her porch are possibly common trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans), one of the known larval hosts. I indicated my best guess would be Paratrea plebeja.

Larval thumbnails for Southeastern Kansas

Marion
Linn
Cowley
Crawford

Chase
Butler
Elk
Montgomery

Lyon
Greenwood
Chautauqua
Labette

Coffey
Allen
Wilson
Cherokee

Anderson
Bourbon
Neosho

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This page is brought to you by Bill Oehlke and the WLSS. Pages are on space rented from Bizland. If you would like to become a "Patron of the Sphingidae Site", contact Bill.

Please send sightings/images to Bill. I will do my best to respond to requests for identification help. An image with geography, at least to county level, and a brief description of what the larva was doing and names or descriptions of surrounding foliage are most helpful.