Sphinginae subfamily
Sphingini tribe:
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Ceratomia amyntor
WO,
Elm Sphinx; Four-horned Sphinx:
Fw upperside: brown with dark brown and white
markings including white costal area near wing base, dark
streaks along veins, white spot in cell. Hw upperside: light brown; dark brown band along outer margin.
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Ceratomia catalpae WO,
Catalpa Sphinx: Fw upperside: yellowish brown with no white markings, but there are indistinct
black lines and dashes. Cell spot gray with black outline, and upperside of the
hindwing is yellowish brown with obscure lines. Catalpa is the larval host.
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Ceratomia undulosa
WO, Waved Sphinx:
Fw upperside: pale brownish gray with wavy black
and white lines; black-outlined white cell spot. Hw upperside: gray with diffuse darker bands.
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Lapara bombycoides
WO, Northern Pine Sphinx:
The upperside of the forewing is gray with heavy black bands. The upperside of the hindwing is brownish gray with no markings.
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Lintneria eremitus
WO, Hermit Sphinx:
The upperside of the forewing is gray-brown with wavy lines, black dashes, and one or two small white spots near the center of the costa.
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Manduca quinquemaculatus WO Five-spotted Hawkmoth: Abdomen usually has five, sometimes six pairs of yellow
bands. Fw upperside: blurry brown and gray. Hw upperside: banded with brown and white; two well-separated median zigzag bands.
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Manduca sexta WO, Carolina Sphinx:
Abdomen usually has six pairs of yellow bands, broken across back. Sixth set quite small.
Fw upperside: indistinct black, brown, white markings. If you grow tomatoes, you have probably encountered it.
Larvae can strip tomato plant. generally more southerly
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Sphinx canadensis WO, Sphinx canadensis, Canadian Sphinx:
Absence of white spot on each fw and more brownish coloration serve to separate S. canadensis from
S. poecilus. Hw fringe also tends to be white on poecilus; checkered brownish on canadensis.
maybe, generally more northerly
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Sphinx chersis WO, Northern Ash Sphinx, Great Ash Sphinx: Fw upperside: soft dark gray to blue-gray with
series of black dashes, one of which reaches wing tip. Hw upperside: black with blurry pale gray bands. Ash, lilac, privet, cherry, quaking aspen.
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Sphinx drupiferarum WO, Wild Cherry Sphinx: Costal area: light grey in basal/median areas. Terminal and
marginal areas are also light grey. The rest of the forewing is dark slatey grey.
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Sphinx gordius WO, Apple Sphinx: Note the pm line, absent in Sphinx poecila which generally flies
more to the north.
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Sphinx kalmiae
WO, Laurel Sphinx:
The lower forewings are predominantly brownish-yellow with a fairly
wide dark bar along the inner margin. At rest the wings hug the body,
giving the moth a long slender look.
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Sphinx poecila WO, Poecila Sphinx:
If you have blueberries in the woods, then you might have the Poecila
Sphinx. They are pretty common here on Prince Edward Island, but
don't fly too far west of Wisconsin. unlikely, generally more northerly
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Smerinthini Tribe:
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Amorpha juglandis WO, Walnut Sphinx:
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 white or pink tinge. Patterns range from faint to pronounced.
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Pachysphinx modesta
WO
the Modest Sphinx or Poplar Sphinx:
This moth has a large, heavy body, and females can be remarkably plump.
Lines are diffuse and the forewing has darker and lighter grey to brown areas.
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Paonias excaecata
WO, the Blinded Sphinx:
Named for the dull grey-blue spot in the hindwing.
I regularly see them on Prince Edward Island.
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Paonias myops
WO, the Small-eyed Sphinx:
Named for the small eye-spot in the hindwing, this moth has a wide
distribution.
I regularly see them on Prince Edward Island, and they are reported
as far south as Florida.
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Smerinthus cerisyi
WO, the Cerisyi's Sphinx:
At my home in Montague, P.E.I., Canada, they are quite common.
This is a very easy species to rear.
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Smerinthus jamaicensis
WO, the Twin-spotted Sphinx:
Smerinthus jamaicensis closely resembles Smerinthus cerisyi,
but jamaicensis is much smaller with larger blue patches on
more vibrant and deeper purple in the lower wings.
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Macroglossinae subfamily
Dilophonotini tribe:
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Erinnyis ello, Ello Sphinx, WO:
The abdomen has very distinct gray and black bands.
Adults nectar at dusk so you may see them in the garen at that time.
possibly, but only as a stray
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Hemaris thysbe
BAMONA, Hummingbird Clearwing:
They are widely distributed in the east from P.E.I. to Florida. |
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Hemaris diffinis
WO, Snowberry Clearwing:
This moth is widely distributed and is confirmed by Duane McDowell
for Ramsey County.
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Philampelini tribe:
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Eumorpha achemon BAMONA, the Achemon Sphinx:
This moth is fairly often reported along the coast from southern New Jersey to central Maine. It also ranges westward.
Note the differences between this moth and the Pandorus Sphinx.
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Eumorpha pandorus BAMONA, the 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.
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Macroglossini tribe:
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Amphion floridensis WO,Nessus Sphinix:
This day flier is widely distributed. If you have Virginia Creeper, you might have the Nessus Sphinx. Two bright, distinct, narrow yellow
bands are often visible on the abdomen. generally more southerly
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Darapsa choerilus WO, Azalea Sphinx:
They are common in New Jersey and common here on Prince Edward Island.
You will often see this species listed as Darapsa pholus, especially in older literature. |
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Darapsa myron
WO, Virginia Creeper Sphinx, Grapevine Sphinx:
Fw upperside: dark brown to pale yellowish gray, with olive tint.
On costal margin there is dark rectangular patch, although this may be reduced or absent. Hw upperside: pale orange.
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Deidamia inscriptum WO, Lettered Sphinx:
Fw outer margin: deeply scalloped. The upperside is light brown with dark brown markings. There is a small black and white spot near the tip.
The upperside of the hindwing is orange-brown with a dark brown outer margin and median line.
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Hyles gallii WO, the Bedstraw Hawk Moth
or Gallium Sphinx:
This species is not reported in Minnesota by USGS, but I expect it is present.
Some years I see them on P.E.I., some years, I do not.
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Hyles euphorbiae
EW, Spurge Hawk Moth: Body: light brown with various white and dark brown
markings, while wings have conspicuous tan, brown, pink or red color pattern.
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Hyles euphorbiae larva, Burnsville, August 16, 2011, Eric Wurm
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Hyles lineata WO, White-lined Sphinx:
Fw upperside: dark olive brown with paler brown along costa and outer margin, narrow tan band running from wing tip
to base, white streaks along veins. |
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Sphecodina abbottii WO, Abbott's Sphinx:
This moth is very much under reported. It is a rapid day flier so is probably not in too many collections. Grape is a popular larval host.
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