Pima County, Arizona

Sphinginae subfamily

Sphingini tribe: Agrius cingulata, USGS, Pink-spotted Hawkmoth This moth is a very strong flier, and make its way to southern Arizona and southern California. It is confirmed for Pima County and neighbouring counties. Ceratomia sonorensis, USGS/IN/ER, Sonoran Sphinx, The fringes of the upper wings are checkered black and white. The upperside of the forewing is dark gray with black bars and dashes and whitish patches. The upperside of the hindwing is dark brown with pale gray at the base and has two black transverse lines. rare Cocytius antaeus, BW The Giant Sphinx, stray This moth is a very strong flier, but would only make its way to Pima County as a rare stray. There is a single record for Tucson in October (Bruce Walsh). Lintneria istar WO/IN, the Istar Sphinx The upperside of the forewing is dark gray with brown tinges. A series of narrow dashes runs from the tip to the cell spots, and a wide black band runs from the middle of the outer margin to the base of the wing. It flies to the east and to the south and might be present. Lintneria separatus USGS, the Separated Sphinx The upperside of the forewing is dark gray with black and light gray wavy lines. The upperside of the hindwing is black with a brownish gray border and two white bands. Manduca florestan USGS/IN/ER The upperside of the forewing is gray to yellowish gray to brown. The reddish brown patch just outside the cell and above the dashes is the most distinguishing character. Manduca muscosa USGS/IN/ER, Muscosa sphinx The upperside of the moth is soft greenish gray; the forewing has a small green to white cell spot, and the hindwing has black bands and a black patch at the base. Manduca occulta USGS, Occult sphinx Manduca occulta can be differentiated from M. sexta which has 2/3 black, 1/3 white checkering on the forewing, while occulta has equal amounts of black and white checkering. Manduca quinquemaculatus USGS/ER, the Five-spotted Hawkmoth This species is confirmed in Pima County, and has been seen in nearby counties. I suspect if you grow tomatoes, you are likely to encounter it. Manduca rustica DB/AF/IN/ER/ USGS, the Rustic Sphinx This species is officially recorded in Pima County, and it has been taken in other nearby counties. Look for three large yellow spots on each side of the abdomen. Manduca sexta USGS/IN/ER, the Carolina Sphinx This species is recorded in Pima County. If you grow tomatoes, you have probably encountered it, though. Larvae get very large and can strip a tomato plant. Sagenosoma elsa USGS, the Elsa sphinx This species is recorded in Pima County. The upperside of the forewing has a wide white band along the costa from base to apex. The remainder of the wing has black and white bands. Sphinx chersis USGS/IN, the Northern Ash Sphinx or Great Ash Sphinx This species is reported in Pima. Larval hosts are ash, lilac, privet, cherry, and quaking aspen. Sphinx chersis, Tucson, July 25, 2009, Meg Benhase. Sphinx dollii USGS/IN/ER, the Doll's sphinx Sphinx dollii (Wing span: 1 3/4 - 2 1/2 inches (4.5 - 6.3 cm)), flies in arid brushlands and desert foothills from Nevada and southern California east through Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico to Oklahoma and Texas. Sphinx libocedrus USGS, the Incense Cedar Sphinx The upperside of the forewing is pale blue-gray to dark gray with a black dash reaching the wing tip and a white stripe along the lower outer margin. The upperside of the hindwing is black with two diffuse white bands, the upper one being practically non-existent. Smerinthini Tribe: Pachysphinx occidentalis USGSER, the Big Poplar Sphinx This one is quite similar to Pachysphinx modesta, with modesta being smaller and darker. Moths should be on the wing from June-August. Paonias myops USGS/IN/ER, the Small-eyed Sphinx Named for the small eye-spot in the hindwing, this moth has a wide distribution and is probably common in Pima County. Smerinthus cerisyi USGS/ER, the Cerisyi's Sphinx or One-eyed Sphinx, Larvae feed on poplars and willows. Flight would be from late May-July as a single brood. Smerinthus saliceti USGS/IN/ER, the Salicet Sphinx, flies in valleys and along streamsides from Mexico City north to west Texas, southern Arizona, and extreme southern California. Larvae feed on poplars and willows. Flight would be from late April-September, probably as a double brood. Macroglossinae subfamily Dilophonotini tribe: Aellopos clavipes USGS, the Aellopos Sphinx. The body is dark brown with a wide white band across the abdomen. Wings are dark brown. The forewing has a black cell spot and 3 white spots near the pale brown marginal area. Aellopos titan USGS, the Titan Sphinx. The body is dark brown with a wide white stripe across the abdomen. The wings are dark brown. It is very similar to above species, but the upperside of the hindwing has pale patches along the costa and inner margin. Callionima falcifera USGS This species is reddish, has falcate wings and flies after midnight. It is confirmed for Pima County. Callionima parce WO, the Parce sphinx This species is easily confused with C. falcifera and may or may not be present in Arizona. See the species file. Enyo lugubris, the Mournful Sphinx, USGS The body and wings are dark brown. The forewing has a large black patch covering most of the outer half of the wing. There is a pale tan cell spot (dark inner pupil), and a fairly straight median line to the inside of the cell spot. Erinnyis alope, the Alope Sphinx, USGS The upperside of the forewing is dark brown with short yellowish streaks on the forward half and wavy yellowish bands on the rear half. The upperside of the hindwing is bright yellow with a wide dark brown border. Erinnyis crameri, the Cramer's Sphinx, USGS The upperside of the abdomen is gray, without black bands, and the underside does not have black spots. The upperside of the forewing is dark brown, and may have pale yellow-brown patches along the inner edge. Erinnyis domingonis WO, the Dominican Sphinx This moth flies in Haiti and Jamaica south to Paraguay and Bolivia with occasional sightings in Texas and Arizona. This species might be present in Pima County. Erinnyis ello USGS/ER, the Ello Sphinx This species is reported in Pima County and in other southern Arizona counties. Males and females differ. rare Erinnyis lassauxi WO, the Dominican Sphinx This moth flies in Haiti and Jamaica south to Paraguay and Bolivia with occasional sightings in Texas and Arizona. This species might be present in Pima County. Erinnyis obscura, the Obscure Sphinx, USGS During the night adults nectar at flowers, including bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis) and Asystasia gangetica beginning at dusk. July and August are flight times in the southern states. Hemaris thetis WO, the Thetis Clearwing or Bee Hawk Moth, The moth flies along forest edges and in meadows, gardens and brushy fields. Day-flying adults nectar at lantana, dwarf bush honeysuckle, snowberry, orange hawkweed, thistles, lilac, Canada violet, etc. Isognathus rimosa, the Rimosus Sphinx, USGS The upperside of female forewing is mostly gray brown on the front half and dark brown on the rear half while the upperside of male forewing is yellow gray or gray brown. Both sexes have wavy dark markings. The upperside of the hindwing of both sexes is yellow with an incomplete dark border on the outer margin. Pachylia ficus, the Fig Sphinx, USGS The upperside of the forewing is orangish brown with a paler patch along the costa at the tip. The upperside of the hindwing is orange to orangish brown with a black outer border, a black median band, and a white spot on the outer margin near the body. Pseudosphinx tetrio, the Tetrio Sphinx, USGS The upperside of the forewing is dark brown with a dark spot at the base of the costa and blurry gray and white markings. The upperside of the hindwing is dark brown with white along the inner margin, and the lower half of the outer margin. Philampelini tribe: Eumorpha achemon DB/IN/ER/ USGS, the Achemon Sphinx This moth is officially reported for Pima County. Eumorpha achemon larvae feed upon Grape (Vitis), Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and other vines and ivies (Ampelopsis). Eumorpha satellitia USGS, the Satellite Sphinx The Satellite Sphinx Moth, Eumorpha satellitia satellitia flies in Jamaica and from Mexico to Ecuador and further south into Bolivia. stray Eumorpha typhon USGS/IN/ER, the Typhon Sphinx The upperside of wings is deep red-brown with pale brown bands. Each hindwing has pink along the costal margin and a triangular white spot on the outer part of the inner margin. Eumorpha vitis USGS/IN, the Vine Sphinx The upperside of the moth is dark pinkish brown. Each forewing has a lighter brown band along the costa, and sharp pinkish white bands and streaks. The hindwing has a pink patch on the inner margin. Macroglossini tribe: Hyles lineata DB/AF/IN/ER/USGS, the White-lined Sphinx Adam Fleishman reports many August 11-21 in Tucson, Arizona. David Bygott sent a larva image in April. Larvae can be quite varied. Adam Fleishman reports large numbers of Hyles lineata, August 21, 2005, SE Tucson. Proserpinus terlooii USGS/IN/ER, the Terloo sphinx The upperside of the forewing is uniform olive green with a darker median band. The upperside of the hindwing is red with an olive green border. Proserpinus terlooii - 1 male, 1 female Brown Canyon, Baboquivari Mountains, 30-31 July 2010, Evan Rand Proserpinus vega USGS, the Vega sphinx Jim Tuttle writes, "P. vega has a very large and dark basal patch as the FW meets the thorax that is lacking in terlooii. There are also three prominent longitudinal stripes on the thorax of vega that are lacking in terlooii." Xylophanes falco USGS/IN/ER, the Falcon Sphinx The upperside of the forewing is orange-brown along the forward half, striped with dark brown and light brown along the rear half, with dark brown bands separating the two. The upperside of the hindwing is pale brown with dark brown marginal and submarginal lines.