The Sphingidae of Kansas

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 stray Ceratomia amyntor T Ceratomia catalpae E 1/2 Ceratomia hageni E 1/2 Ceratomia undulosa T Lintneria eremitoides ab XW & XSE Manduca albiplaga stray Manduca quinquemaculatus Twwwwwwwwwwwww Manduca sexta T Paratrea plebeja E 2/3 Sphinx chersis T Sphinx drupiferarum T Sphinx franckii XNE Sphinx vashti T Smerinthini Tribe: Amorpha juglandis T Pachysphinx modesta T Paonias excaecata ab XSW Paonias myops T Smerinthus jamaicensis T

Macroglossinae subfamily Dilophonotini tribe:mm Aellopos titan Erinnyis obscura stray Hemaris thysbe EH Hemaris diffinis T Philampelini tribe:mm Eumorpha achemon T Eumorpha pandorus E 2/3 Macroglossini tribe: Amphion floridensis T Darapsa myron T Deidamia inscriptum E 1/3 Euproserpinus wiesti XW Hyles lineata T Proserpinus juanita T Sphecodina abbottii E 1/5 Xylophanes tersa SE 1/4 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 quinquemaculatus)
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)

Titan Sphinx (Aellopos titan)
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

Southwestern Kansas

Lane Ness Hamilton

Kearny Finney Hodgeman

Stanton Grant Haskell

Gray Ford Clark

Morton Stevens Seward Meade

South Central Kansas

Rush Kiowa Ellsworth Reno

Barton Pratt Saline Harvey

Pawnee Comanche Rice Kingman

Edwards Barber McPherson Sedgwick

Stafford Harper Marion Sumner

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 Northeastern Kansas

Marshall Riley Jackson Osage

Nemaha Pottawatomie Shawnee Douglas

Brown Geary Jefferson Johnson

Doniphan Wabaunsee Leavenworth Franklin

Atchison Morris Wyandotte Miami

Larval thumbnails for Southeastern Kansas

Marion Linn Cowley Crawford

Chase Butler Elk Montgomery

Lyon Greenwood Chautauqua Labette

Coffey Allen Wilson Cherokee

Anderson Bourbon Neosho

Enjoy some of nature's wonderments, giant silk moth cocoons. These cocoons are for sale winter and fall. Beautiful Saturniidae moths will emerge the following spring and summer. Read Actias luna rearing article. Additional online help available.

Eggs of many North American species are offered during the spring and summer. Occasionally summer Actias luna and summer Antheraea polyphemus cocoons are available. Shipping to US destinations is done from with in the US.

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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.

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