Xylophanes tersa
(Linnaeus, 1771)
The Tersa sphinx caterpillar feeds on Borreria, Catalpa and Manettia spp. and Smooth buttonplant (Spermacoce glabra) and starclusters (Pentas species). They are also recorded on joe-pie weed and Hamelia patens. These caterpillars are seen all year round in Florida and Texas, and I usually get a few requests each year when people spot them on their pentas.
The Tersa Sphinx Moth, Xylophanes tersa tersa, (wingspan: 2 3/8 - 3 1/8 inches (6 - 8 cm)), flies from Massachusetts south to south Florida; west to Nebraska, New Mexico, and southern Arizona; south through Mexico, the West Indies, and Central America to Argentina. An occasional stray makes its way into Canada.
Barb did an excellent job with her description and reveals a chance encounter,
"Hello,
"I never thought I would be writing an expert in caterpillars, but I found this little guy while my husband and I went flying R/C planes in a field. I did my own research on the internet and found many that look so similar from the Sphinx and Swallowtail families but none of them are exactly like this one. I hope you will be able to help us, if not I understand. Below is the info you request on your site and a picture of him as we found him.
"He was found in Miami, Florida, in a sandy field with minimal grass and shrubs(construction site), a cow field nearby.
"He is light green as seen in pic. and his body is very smooth, has several dots resembling eyes running down both sides of his body and the dots overlap yellow stripes, he has two larger eyes near the head area and a horn by the tail. The horn is small and straight up. He is about 2 1/2 inches long and cute as pie. He also has very small whiteish yellow specs all over."
I wrote back indicating the species and suggested Barb treat it as per Paonias excaecatus on my Sphingidae site. This species also has a brown form caterpillar.
Xylophanes tersa belongs to the Sphingidae family.
Adult moths nectar at flowers in the evening.
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