SPHINGICAMPA HUBBARDI (DYAR, 1902)
SYSSPHINX HUBBARDI

Photo (female) courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Ceratocampinae, Harris, 1841 was Syssphinginae: Packard, 1905 Genus: Syssphinx, Hubner [1819] 1816

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DISTRIBUTON:

The Syssphinx hubbardi moth (wingspan 66-75 mm; males smaller than females) ranges sporadically in southern New Mexico and Arizona eastward to mid Texas. There are also populations in the mountain ranges of northeastern San Bernardino Co. in California. The species is more abundant in Mexico, and in many taxonomies is listed as Sphingicampa hubbardi.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Sphingicampa hbubardi moths are on the wing from June until September with most adults on the wing from late July throughout August. In Texas specimens have been taken at lights in November suggesting multiple broods. Larvae feed on Wright's acacia, honey mesquite and catclaw acacia.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

These moths tend to eclose in the early evening with scenting and mating occuring the same night between 11:00 pm and 2:00 am.

The species mates readily in captivity, even in small cages, and the pair remains coupled until the following evening. The medial line on the dorsal hindwing is faint in the male (right), while in the female it is non-existent.

OVA, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Females deposit light green ova either singly or in pairs on hostplant foliage. Warm weather results in a very short incubation time of five days. Some larvae mature (55 mm) in under three weeks while others from the same batch progress much less rapidly. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Larvae seem relatively disease free and this is an easy species to rear in captivity even on cut food. In captivity, larvae accept honey locust, black locust and sweet acacia.

Pupation is in shallow chambers under the soil. Reared pupae should not be subjected to freezing temperatures.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Acacia Gleditsia triacanthos Parkinsonia microphyllum..... Parkinsonia torreyana Prosopis juliflora Robinia pseudoacacia

Acacia Honeylocust Black locust/false acacia Jerusalem thorn Jerusalem thorn mesquite

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