Monday, August 03, 2009

Pandorus Sphinx Moth (Eumorpha pandorus)



Range: A fairly common sphinx moth (Sphingidae) in eastern and central North America.

Wing span: 3 1/4 - 4 1/2 inches (8.2 - 11.5 cm).

Caterpillar hosts: Grape (Vitis), ampelopsis (Ampelopsis), and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus).

Adult food: Nectar from flowers including petunia (Petunia hybrida), bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis), and white campion (Lychnis alba).

Sources and additional information:

BugGuide - Sphingidae

BugGuide - Eumorpha pandorus

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Bill Oehlke's Sphingidae Site

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14 comments:

Fiona Barclay said...

Oooh I really want one of those! How lovely. It's like our Lime Hawkmoth a bit. Marvin are you sure I can't come and trap?

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Ahhh another of those velvety looking moths. Simply elegant.

Shelly Cox said...

Gorgeous moth, added one to the collection this year. Love that coloring, very camo-like

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

This is a fantastic one Marvin. Love the green color.

Birdy Official said...

What a wonderful moth! The green color is awesome. I also shot a similar moth, but probably that is an oleander hawk moth.

laughingwolf said...

beauty, but so alien-looking! :)

Unknown said...

We have a sphinx moth too --> it pollenates the Ghost Orchid.

Lana Gramlich said...

This moth is just beautiful. Art among nature.

rocksea said...

absolutely beautiful!! it would have been great to see this one in its environment, in camouflage.

Anonymous said...

I had this exact same moth fly into my house last night....The only difference is that the one that came into my house is brown instead of green...I agree with everybody here....Gorgeous....I saved it from my scared wife who was chasing it through the house with a fly swatter in her hand, screaming for me to come....Thankfully I saved the moth from an awful fate and was able to take a few pictures of it. skippy594@hotmail.com if you want a picture of the moth to see for yourselves.

Pat - Arkansas said...

Nature did a great camouflage job on this one! Looks like a stealth-wing bomber.

You have the most interesting insects in your part of the woods.

Anonymous said...

Hello, I live in Raleigh, NC, downtown at that. Tonight was the first night I have ever seen one here. It is so lovely. I have not been able to find out to much on its flight pattern. Does anyone have any links? Thank you for your time.

Anonymous said...

I was fortunate enough to catch a caterpillar of one of these moths. I can't wait to see him transform. He's eating like a pig.

Anonymous said...

I had the same thing happen to skippy594. After my wife calmed down she took some pictures too with me. I thought it was a locust but then when it calmed down it was a camouflaged moth. Very Cool! I also have pics.