mixture between butterfly, carterpillar and dragonfly?
Location:  Japan, Tokyo
October 12, 2010 7:23 am
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to what kind of insect this is. I saw a lot of those flying insects in Japan lately.
They have a green/yellow or brown/orange hairy body, that looks a little like a big carterpillar.
They have antennae and a proboscis like a butterfly. But their wings are like the wings of a dragonfly and their flying style is also similar to a dragonfly. I think they’re between 4-7 centimeter long.
They’ve been eating the nectar of the flowers on the photo.
I’m sorry for the bad quality but it was quite difficult to take a photo because they were moving really fast all the time.
Thank you for your help!
Sincerely
Signature:  Britta Stein

Hummingbird Moth from Japan

Hi Britta,
In North America, closely related diurnal Sphinx Moths are called Hummingbird Moths or Hummingbird Clearwings.  We have previously identified a species in Japan as Cephonodes hylas, and that may be your species.

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Big Ol’ Caterpillar
Location:  Southern California
October 9, 2010 4:44 pm
This huge caterpillar was climbing on my rosemarry plant. I’ve never seen it before and none of our neighbors recognize it. It’s about 3.5 to 4 inches long, and is a creamy color with dark brown slashes. It has a small dark dot on his tail. Thankyou for your help!
Signature:  Puzzled bug observer

Achemon Sphinx Caterpillar

Dear Puzzled bug observer,
Your caterpillar is an Achemon Sphinx, a variably colored hornworm that is unusual in that the later instar caterpillar loses its namesake horn.  Your individual is a match to several images on BugGuide, though the Sphingidae of the Americas website does not picture this color variation.  Rosemary is not listed as a food plant.  Grape and other vines are typical food plants for caterpillars, so we can’t help but wonder if a grape vine was growing near the rosemary.

Yes, the rosemary is growing directly next to a Thompson seeless grape vine!!  Thank you for the references and name so we can further research him.
We appreciate your quick response.  Sincerely,  no-longer-puzzled bug observer

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Twigs in the night
Location:  Central Texas
September 29, 2010 7:55 am
I found this butterfly or moth outside my apartment on 24 Sept. at 8:30 in the morning. I live in Copperas Cove, a town in Central Texas near Fort Hood. The markings look like twigs in amazing detail with a night time background.
Signature:  Timothy

Vine Sphinx

Hi Timothy,
“Twigs in the night” is surely an artful description of the markings of the Vine Sphinx, Eumorpha vitis, which you may read about on Bill Oehlke’s website Sphingidae of the Americas.

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Carolina Sphinx
Location:  Bellevue NE moonflower bush
September 25, 2010 11:55 pm
Thank you for your site. I was able to identify what I took a picture of.
Signature:  Eric

Five Spotted Hawkmoth

Dear Eric,
Your photos are quite wonderful, especially the image that shows the moth with its long proboscis uncoiled and reaching deep into the throat of the blossom for the nectar.  If your photos were not of such a high quality, we probably would not be able to correct your misidentification.  If you compare the markings on the thorax of your specimen and count the yellow spots on the abdomen, we think you will agree that this is actually not a Carolina Sphinx, but rather a Five Spotted Hawkmoth, Manduca quinquemaculata.  Bill Oehlke’s website, Sphingidae of the Americas, has excellent images of numerous members of the family, and you can compare his photographs of the Five Spotted Hawkmoth with those of the Carolina Sphinx. As long as we are making corrections, the blossom that the Five Spotted Hawkmoth is feeding upon is a Datura, commonly called a Jimsonweed.  We believe the common name Moonflower belongs to a vine in the morning glory family and though the Datura also blooms at night, we have not heard it called a Moonflower. The Datura is a common food plant for the caterpillars of  both the Carolina Sphinx and the Five Spotted Hawkmoth, and having flowers that attract the adult moths ensures that the bloom is pollinated and can produce seeds.  Both the plant and the moth benefit from their symbiotic relationship.

Five Spotted Hawkmoth

Thanks for the correction. However, the plant is not D. stramonium, it is more Ipomoea alba. The shape of leaves is distinctly different. But I am just an amateur photographer and amateur gardener.

again a google search corrects me…. Datura wrightii is the classification…but i am so confused now lol

Hi Eric,
Classification of plants and animals is no cake walk, and just when you think you have the identification nailed, some scientist reclassifies everything.  The plant is definitely a Datura.

Agreed, a Datura it is.

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