The Sphingidae of Minnesota


Hyles lineata, Roseville, Minnesota, August 9, 2005, courtey of Duane McDowell.

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.

Many thanks to Tom Middagh who has sent me much collection data (1970's - 1980's), especially for Nobles County. Those species followed by TD have been added to my original Minnesota list, courtesy of Tom.

Tom's complete list is at the bottom of this page.

Special thanks also goes to Mark Black for his sightings and images of Ceratomia undulosa and Hyles euphorbiae from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hyles euphorbiae had not been previously reported in Minnesota. Mark has also reported Amphion floridensis, Paonias excaecata and Deidamia inscriptum from Minneapolis (Hennepin County).

Special thanks also goes to Paul Santo for his sightings and images of Aellopos titan and Hemaris diffinis now posted on the Washington County page.

Hyles euphorbiae, Minneapolis, Minnesota, courtesy of Mark Black.

Sphinginae subfamily

Sphingini tribe:

Agrius cingulata
Ceratomia amyntor
Ceratomia undulosa TM
Ceratomia catalpae
Lapara bombycoides
Manduca quinquemaculatawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Manduca sexta TM
Sphinx canadensis TM
Sphinx chersis
Sphinx drupiferarum TM
Sphinx kalmiae
Sphinx luscitiosa
Sphinx poecila TM

Smerinthini Tribe:

Amorpha juglandis TM
Pachysphinx modesta
Paonias excaecatus
Paonias myops
Smerinthus cerisyi
Smerinthus jamaicensis







Macroglossinae subfamily

Dilophonotini tribe:mm

Aellopos titan TM
Erinnyis ello
Erinnyis obscura TM
Hemaris diffinis
Hemaris thysbe

Philampelini tribe:mm

Eumorpha achemon TM
Eumorpha fasciatus RG stray
Eumorpha pandorus

Macroglossini tribe:

Amphion floridensis TM
Darapsa pholus TM
Darapsa myron
Deidamia inscriptum TM
Hyles euphorbiae MB
Hyles gallii
Hyles lineata
Proserpinus juanita
Xylophanes tersa TM

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Common names

Pink-spotted Hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata)
Elm Sphinx (Ceratomia amyntor)
Catalpa Sphinx (Ceratomia catalpae)
Ash Sphinx (Ceratomia undulosa)
Northern Pine Sphinx (Lapara bombycoides)
Five-spotted Hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata)
Carolina Sphinx (Manduca sexta)
Canadian Sphinx (Sphinx canadensis
Great Ash Sphinx (Sphinx chersis)
Cherry Sphinx (Sphinx drupiferarum
Laurel Sphinx (Sphinx kalmiae)
Canadian Sphinx (Sphinx luscitiosa)
Poecila Sphinx (Sphinx poecila)

Walnut Sphinx (Amorpha juglandis)
Modest or Poplar Sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta)
Blinded Sphinx (Paonias excaecatus)
Small-eyed Sphinx (Paonias myops)
One-eyed Sphinx (Smerinthus cerisyi)
Twin-spotted Sphinx (Smerinthus jamaicensis)

Titan Sphinx (Aellopos titan)
Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello)
Obscure Sphinx (Erinnyis obscura)
Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe)
Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis)

Pandorus Sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus)

Virginia Creeper Sphinx (Darapsa myron)
Lettered Sphinx (Deidamia inscriptum)
Spurge Hawkmoth (Hyles euphorbiae)
Bedstraw Hawk Moth or Gallium Sphinx (Hyles gallii)
White-lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata)
Juanita Sphinx (Proserpinus juanita)
Tersa Sphinx (Xylophanes tersa)

Map from U.S. Census Bureau: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/minnesota_map.html

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

Northwestern Minnesota

Kittson
Polk
Clay

Roseau
Pennington
Becker

Lake of the Woods
Red Lake
Clearwater

Marshall
Norman
Hubbard

Beltrami
Mahnomen
Cass

Centralwestern Minnesota

Wilkin
Douglas
Bigstone

Otter Tail
Todd
Swift

Wadena
Stevens
Chippewa

Traverse
Pope
Kandiyohi

Grant
Stearns
Meeker

Southwestern Minnesota

Lac Qui Parle
Lincoln
Pipestone
Rock

Yellow Medicine
Lyon
Murray
Nobles

Renville
Redwood
Cottonwood
Jackson

McLeod
Brown
Watonwan
Martin

Sibley
Nicollet
Blue Earth
Faribault

Northeastern Minnesota

Koochiching
Crow Wing

Itasca
Aitkin

St. Louis
Carlton

Lake
Pine

Cook

Centraleastern Minnesota

Morrison
Isanti
Ramsey

Mille Lacs
Chisago
Washington

Kanabec
Anoka
Carver

Benton
Wright
Scott

Sherburne
Hennepin
Dakota

Southeastern Minnesota

Le Sueur
Waseca
Freeborn

Rice
Steele
Mower

Goodhue
Dodge
Fillmore

Wabasha
Olmsted
Houston


Winona

Aellopos titan, Titan Sphinx, Nobles, September 12, 1979
Aellopos titan, Titan Sphinx, Washington, July 4, 2006, Paul Santo
Agrius cingulata, Pink-spotted Hawkmoth, Nobles, September 24, 1981
Amphion floridensis, Nessus Sphinx, Nobles, June 11, 1992
Amphion floridensis, Nessus Sphinx, Minneapolis (Hennepin), June 4, 2006, Mark Black
Ceratomia amyntor, Four-horned Elm Sphinx, Nobles, May 29, 1976
Ceratomia undulosa, Waved Sphinx, Nobles, August 22, 1982
Cressonia juglandis, Walnut Sphinx, Becker, June 25, 1979
Darapsa myron Hog Sphinx, Nobles, June 7, 1977
Darapsa choerilus, Azalea Sphinx, Becker, June 25, 1979
Deidamia inscriptum, Lettered Nobles, May 21, 1977
Deidamia inscriptum, larva, Minneapolis, June 18, 2006, Mark Black
Erinnyis obscura, Obscure Sphinx, Nobles, October 2, 1979
Eumorpha achemon, Achemon Sphinx, Nobles, August 1, 1976
Eumorpha pandorus, Pandora Sphinx, Lyon, May 30, 1980
Hemaris diffinis, Becker, June 26, 1979
Hemaris diffinis, Snowberry Clearwing, Washington, July, 2005, Paul Santo
Hemaris thysbe, Hummingbird Clearwing, Nobles, June 19, 1976
Hyles euphorbiae, Spurge Hawkmoth, Nobles, July 20, 2007
Hyles gallii, Galium Sphinx, Murry, May 30, 1986
Hyles lineata, White-lined Sphinx, Nobles, June 2, 1975
Lapara bombycoides,Norther Pine Sphinx, Becker, June 27, 1979
Manduca quinquemaculata, Five-spotted Hawkmoth, Nobles, September 28, 1979
Manduca sexta, Nobles, July 30, 1976
Pachysphinx modesta, Poplar Sphinx, Nobles, June 20, 1979
Paonias excaecatus, Blinded sphinx, Nobles, June 20, 1979
Paonias myops, Small-eyed Sphinx, Nobles, June 28, 1976
Smerinthus cerisyi, Cerisyi's Sphinx, Becker, June 29, 1979
Smerinthus jamaicensis, Twin-spotted Sphinx, Nobles, July 25, 1976
Sphinx canadensis, Becker, June 5, 1979
Sphinx chersis, Great Ash Sphinx, Nobles, July 1, 1977
Sphinx drupiferarum, Wild Cherry Sphinx, Nobles, July 17, 2004
Sphinx gordius, Apple Sphinx, Becker, June 23, 1978
Sphinx kalmiae, Laurel Sphinx, Nobles, July 2, 1983
Xylophanes tersa, Tersa Sphinx, Nobles, August 3, 1975

Hyles euphorbiae larva:

Marc Stratton writes, "This 'bug' was photographed near Rollag, Minnesota (35 Miles SE of Fargo, ND), on 2005/09/08 at 8:34 AM.

"I never knew what its moth looked like; and so much smaller than one would expect."

Rollag is in Clay County in Northwestern, Minnesota.

Please send images/sighting data/etc. to Bill Oehlke.

On October 19, 2007, I received an image of a somewhat tattered live specimen from southern Minnesota (Waseca County), courtesy of Roxanne Goodrich. It would be a rare stray into the state.

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.