Hudson County, New Jersey
Sphingidae

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

This page is inspired by and dedicated to Tom Venturini who sent me the Hyles lineata image, top of this page.

Tom writes, "I live in northern New Jersey, 5 miles west of New York City. This male and female were mating in a pine bush. The attached picture was taken about 11 am on Sept. 3, 2010."

The female must have emerged from a subterranean pupae in the soil beneath the pine tree. She then climbed the tree to hang and inflate her wings, and subsequently called in a male.

Forty-six Sphingidae species are listed for New Jersey on the U.S.G.S. website. Not all of the species are reported or anticipated in Hudson County (four are reported on U.S.G.S.). It is hoped that this checklist, with the thumbnails and notes, will help you quickly identify the moths you are likely to encounter.

A "WO" after the species name indicates that I (William Oehlke) expect that this moth is present or might be present.

A "USGS" indicates the moth is reported on the USGS website and/or in Lepidoptera of North America, #1. Distribution of Silkmoths (Saturniidae) and Hawkmoths (Sphingidae) of Eastern North America, an excellent little booklet available through Paul Opler.

Please help me develop this list with improved, documented accuracy by sending sightings (species, date, location), preferably with an electronic image, via email to Bill Oehlke.

Visit Hudson County Sphingidae Larvae: Caterpillars; Hornworms

Visit New Jersey Catocala: Underwing Moths

If you are travelling, you can find active Sphingidae checklists for all countries in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbbean via the links at North, Central, South American Sphingidae checklists

Sphinginae subfamily Sphingini tribe: Ceratomia amyntor USGS, the Elm Sphinx or Four-horned Sphinx. The fw upperside is brown with dark brown and white markings including a white costal area near wing base, dark streaks along veins, and a white spot in cell. The hw upperside is light brown and has dark brown band along outer margin. Larvae feed on Elm (Ulmus), birch (Betula), basswood (Tilia), and cherry (Prunus). Ceratomia catalpae WO, the Catalpa Sphinx. The upperside of the forewing is yellowish brown with no white markings, but there are indistinct black lines and dashes. The cell spot is gray with a black outline and the upperside of the hindwing is yellowish brown with obscure lines. Catalpa is the larval host. Ceratomia undulosa WO, the Waved Sphinx. The fw upperside is pale brownish gray with wavy black and white lines and a black-outlined white cell spot. The upperside of the hindwing is gray with diffuse darker bands. Some individuals are very dark, almost black, and others are light yellowish brown. Dolba hyloeus WO, the Pawpaw Sphinx The upperside of the forewing is dark brown with a dusting of white scales. Some moths have patches of reddish or yellowish brown on the wings. Lapara bombycoides WO, the 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. The underside is rather plain. Lapara coniferarum WO, the Southern Pine Sphinx. The fw upperside is gray with two (sometimes one or three) black dashes near wing center; other markings are usually diffuse. The hw upperside is uniform brown-gray. This species does not have the more sharply contrasting black markings of a fresh Lapara bombycoides. Lintneria eremitus WO, the Hermit Sphinx. Fw upperside: gray-brown with wavy lines, black dashes, one or two small white spots near center of costa. Hw upperside: black with two white bands, triangular black patch at base. Note golden hair on thorax. Larval hosts: various species of beebalm (Monarda), mints (Mentha), bugleweed (Lycopis), sage (Salvia). Manduca jasminearum WO, the Ash Sphinx The upperside of forewing is gray to grayish brown with a black line running from the middle of the costa to the middle of the outer margin; the line may be broken near the margin. There is a splash of brown around the cell spot. The upperside of the hindwing is mostly black, with gray at the lower margin. Manduca quinquemaculatus WO, the Five-spotted Hawkmoth. Abdomen usually has five but 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. Fw fringes: grayish, not distinctly spotted with white. Manduca rustica WO, the Rustic Sphinx The abdomen of the adult moth has three pairs of yellow spots. The upperside of the forewing is yellowish brown to deep chocolate brown with a dusting of white scales and zigzagged black and white lines. Manduca sexta WO, Carolina Sphinx. Abdomen usually has six pairs of yellow bands, broken across back. Sixth set of markings is quite small. Fw upperside: indistinct black, brown, and white markings. Hw upperside: banded with black and white, two black zigzag median lines very close together with hardly any white showing between them. Fringes: spotted with white. Paratrea plebeja USGS, the Plebeian Sphinx The upperside of the forewing is gray with indistinct black and white markings. There is a series of black dashes from the base to the tip, and a small white cell spot. Sphinx chersis WO, the Northern Ash Sphinx or Great Ash Sphinx Fw upperside: soft dark gray to blue-gray with a series of black dashes, one of which reaches the wing tip. Hw upperside: black with blurry pale gray bands. Larval hosts are ash, lilac, privet, cherry, and quaking aspen. Sphinx drupiferarum WO, the Wild Cherry Sphinx FW is dull slate grey with considerable light grey scaling in a broad band along the costa about 3/4 of distance from body toward the apex. Median lines are black and thin. Wavy, diffuse dark subterminal line, inwardly bordered by white. Whitish bar in terminal area, paralleling outer margin. Sphinx franckii WO, Franck's Sphinx Moth The outer margins of the forewings are slightly concave in the male, but not in the female. The costal half of the forewings are grey, but the posterior portion is a distinctive warm yellowish-brown; the boundary between these two areas is marked with a series of dark diagonal streaks. The hindwings are black with a brown basal patch, a median band and margin. Sphinx gordius WO, the Apple Sphinx The upperside of the forewing ranges from brown with black borders through brownish gray with paler borders to pale gray with no borders. Dashes, submarginal line, and cell spot are usually weak. Sphinx kalmiae WO, the 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. Smerinthini Tribe: Amorpha juglandis WO, the Walnut Sphinx Adults 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 a white or pink tinge. Patterns range from faint to pronounced. See the file for the female; she is different. Pachysphinx modesta USGS, the Modest Sphinx or Poplar Sphinx This moth has a large, heavy body, and females can be remarkably plump. Larvae are fond of poplars and willows. Paonias astylus WO, the Huckleberry Sphinx This appears to be an uncommon species. Look for a relatively straight forewing outer margin. Paonias excaecata WO, the Blinded Sphinx Named for the dull grey-blue spot (minus dark pupil) in the hindwing. The outer margin of the forewing is quite wavy. There is a dark cell spot and a dark oblique line mid wing from the costa almost to the inner margin. Basic ground colour is pinkish brown. At rest the lower wings are almost completely hidden. Paonias myops WO, the Small-eyed Sphinx Named for the small eye-spot in the hindwing. The apex is produced and truncated, slightly concave between the costa and next wing vein, followed by definite concave region (next four wing veins) to lower 3/4 of wing. Smerinthus jamaicensis USGS, 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. Also note the complete (i.e. outer margin to outer margin) off-white arc just below the forewing apex. Macroglossinae subfamily Dilophonotini tribe: See Hemaris comparison to help distinguish the next three species. Hemaris thysbe WO, the Hummingbird Clearwing It is not difficult to see why many gardeners would mistake an Hemaris thysbe moth for a small hummingbird as it hovers, sipping nectar from flowers through a long feeding tube. Hemaris diffinis WO, the Snowberry Clearwing or Bumblebee Moth. Very variable species, but almost always the abdomen sports contrasting black and yellow hairs, the ventral surface being quite black. The legs also tend to be quite dark and there is a black mask running across the eye and along the sides of the thorax. Hemaris gracilis WO, the Slender Clearwing or Graceful Clearwing. Distinguished from similar species by pair of red-brown bands on sides of thorax, which varies from green to yellow-green dorsally and sometimes brown with white underneath. Red abdomen. Wings transparent with reddish brown borders. Outer edge of fw transparent area is even and forewing cell has a median row of scales. Legs: dorsally red. Philampelini tribe: Eumorpha achemon WO, the Achemon Sphinx The forewing is light grey and brown with many lines, and there are dark patches near the middle of the inner margin, near the apex and near the anal angle. The entire basal area of the hindwing is pink. Eumorpha pandorus WO, the Pandorus Sphinx. Upperside: light brown with shades of olive green to green. Fw: pink streaks along vein ends and near inner margin, and dark squarish mark at middle of inner margin. Area from base to squarish mark is dark green. Underside usually is yellow-green, but sometimes is pale brown. Macroglossini tribe: Amphion floridensis WO, the Nessus Sphinix This day flier is widely distributed. If you have Virginia Creeper, you probably have the Nessus Sphinx. It is not officially reported from Hudson. Two bright, distinct, narrow yellow bands are often visible on the abdomen. Darapsa choerilus WO, the 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. The lower wings of this hawkmoth are a solid brownish-orange, matching the body colour. Darapsa myron WO, the Virginia Creeper Sphinx or the Grapevine Sphinx. Fw upperside is dark brown to pale yellowish gray, with an olive tint (often quite green). On the costal margin there is a dark rectangular patch, although this may be reduced or absent. The upperside of the hindwing is pale orange. Darapsa versicolor WO, the Hydrangea Sphinx. If you have hydrangea growing near a stream, then you may have the Hydrangea Sphinx. Fw upperside: often greenish brown with curved dark lines and pinkish-white patches. Hw upperside: pale yellow to reddish brown with white along costal margin, greenish brown along outer margin, and white shaded with greenish brown on inner margin. Deidamia inscriptum WO, the Lettered Sphinx. The moth's outer margin of the forewing is 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. Grape (Vitis), ampelopsis (Ampelopsis), and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus) all serve as larval hosts. Hyles lineata TV, the White-lined Sphinx The forewing upperside is dark olive brown with paler brown along the costa and outer margin, a narrow tan band running from the wing tip to the base, and white streaks along the veins. The hindwing upperside is black with a reddish pink median band. Hyles lineata, September 3, 2010, courtesy of Tom Venturini. Sphecodina abbottii WO, the Abbott's Sphinx Adults are said to mimic bumblebees and make a buzzing sound when feeding. The wing margins are scalloped. The upperside of the forewing is dark brown with light brown bands and markings. The upperside of the hindwing is yellow with a wide black outer margin. Xylophanes tersa WO, possible migrant, the Tersa Sphinx The upperside of the forewing is pale brown with lavender-gray at the base and has dark brown lengthwise lines throughout. The upperside of the hindwing is dark brown with a band of whitish, wedge-shaped marks.

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.

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.

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.

Show appreciation for this site by clicking on flashing butterfly to the left. The link will take you to a page with links to many insect sites.

This website has been created and is maintained by Bill Oehlke without government or institutional financial assistance. All expenses, ie., text reference support material, webspace rental from Bizland, computer repairs/replacements, backups systems, software for image adjustments (Adobe Photoshop; L-View), ftp software, anti-virus protection, scanner, etc. are my own.

I very much appreciate all the many images that have been sent to me, or of which I have been granted permission to copy and post from other websites. All images on this site remain the property of respective photographers.

If you would like to contribute to the maintenace of this website by sending a contribution to

Bill Oehlke
Box 476
155 Peardon Road
Montague, Prince Edward Island, C0A1R0
Canada

your donation would be much appreciated and would be used for
1) paying for webspace rental;
2) paying for computer maintenance and software upgrades;
3) purchases of additional text reference material (journals and books) in anticipation of expanding the site to a worldwide Sphingidae site;
4) helping to pay my daughter's tuition (completed spring 2013); with anything left over going to humanitarian aid.

If you are mailing a check from USA, please use $0.85 postage. ($1.15 is 2014 rate so check with post office as rates seem to be rising almost annually.) Donations can also be made through Paypal via the button below.