Is this a moth??
Location: Maumelle, Arkansas
August 31, 2011 5:46 pm
This is hanging out on the wall of our covered porch. My boyfriend and I are wondering if it is a moth and if that is a stinger on its tail. It is in the upper nineties right now and we have been getting around a storm a week for the past month. It has been there all day without moving.
Signature: What In the World!
Tersa Sphinx
Dear WITW,
This aerodynamic moth is a Sphinx Moth in the family Sphingidae. The species is Xylophanes tersa, commonly called the Tersa Sphinx and you may verify our identification on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
1
¶ Posted 31 August 2011 § ‡ ° Moth ID
Location: London Ohio
August 31, 2011 8:40 am
Any idea what this guy is called? I’ve done some searching but am not getting anywhere. found it on my pepper plants in central ohio.
Signature: MC
Carolina Sphinx
Hi MC,
This is Manduca sexta, the Carolina Sphinx or Six Spotted Hawkmoth, and the caterpillar, called the Tobacco Hornworm, is frequently found feeding on tomato plants.
1
¶ Posted 31 August 2011 § ‡ ° Look what flew into our kitchen this evening…
Location: Louisville, CO
August 26, 2011 11:32 pm
Hi, Daniel.
We had a visitor this evening. The wing span was about 5”. It settled down long enough for me to take a picture with my camera phone, and then Lisa put it back outside safely.
Our next door neighbor has been gifting us with their overflowing bounty of incredibly delicious tomatoes. Lisa suspects that the caterpillar it came from was one that feeds on tomatoes and that it is a hawk moth of some sort.
Signature: Daniel
Carolina Sphinx
Good Morning Daniel,
Lisa is correct. This is Manduca sexta, and its common name, Carolina Sphinx, is deceptive because it ranges well beyond the Carolinas. To further add to the confusion, the larva of the Carolina Sphinx is commonly called the Tobacco Hornworm, though it is found on tomato plants and other native solanaceous plants like Jimsonweed and Nightshade outside of tobacco country. You can read more about the Carolina Sphinx on the Sphingidae of the Americas website. Another similar looking member of the genus is Manduca quinquemaculata, and its caterpillar is known as the Tomato Hornworm. They are so similar in both appearance and habits to the Tobacco Hornworm that many home gardeners do not distinguish between the two species.
1
¶ Posted 27 August 2011 § ‡ ° That scared life of me!
Location: Sliema, Malta
August 21, 2011 4:23 pm
Hi,
Could you please let me know what creature it is on the attached photo?
Since the photo has limited capabilities let me give you few more details.
It entered our apartment at night time (no lights, just an open window)
It had a wings span of approximately 15-20cm, length: 7-8cm, and when flying it was very fast and moving in a very chaotic motion.
Your help would be very much appreciated 
Thank you in advance, John
Signature: John
Unknown Hawkmoth Carnage
Dear Staff,
Please help me with identifying the bug I sent you. I have tried to do my reaserch in the Internet but without success.
My wife wants to sleep with closed windows in this 32°C heat here in Malta, because she is scared that this creature will come again. So I need to figure this bug out soon.
I appreciate your time. THANK YOU!!!
Best regards,
John
Hi John,
This harmless Hawkmoth in the family Sphingidae looks perfectly dead, and your wife need not fear its resurrection. In our opinion, this death was preventable, and we are tagging this posting as Unnecessary Carnage.
1
Moth that looks like a leaf?
Location: Oklahoma City
August 23, 2011 8:32 am
This moth is on my house, right outside the front door. It’s very cool, looks like oak leaves! What is it called?
Signature: Elizabeth
Walnut Sphinx
Hi Elizabeth,
This interesting moth is a Walnut Sphinx, Amorpha juglandis. You can verify our identification on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
¶ Posted 23 August 2011 § ‡ ° scary giant moth
Location: san diego … my dresser
August 23, 2011 12:14 am
Dear Bugman,
What I consider to be a very large moth flew into my room tonight and seems to have no immediate plans to leave. This is unfortunate because I cannot sleep with him over on my dresser… staring at me. I live in San Diego, and it is mid-October. Knowing what kind of moth he is won’t get him out of my room, but it will help with the details of my Facebook posts about this little intruder.
Signature: sandi
Carolina Sphinx
Hi Sandi,
Though California is far from the tobacco growing Carolinas, you are still within the range of Manduca sexta, also commonly called the Carolina Sphinx or Tobacco Hornworm for the caterpillar. In California, the large green caterpillars with a caudal horn are frequently found feeding on the leaves of cultivated tomato plants, though they also feed on native jimsonweed and other members of the nighshade family. You can read additional information on the Carolina Sphinx on the Sphingidae of the Americas website. The distinctively marked abdomen with six pairs of yellow spots is not visible in your photograph. P.S. It is currently August. Is this an old event?
Ha! I could try to say the October/August issue was because of autocorrect on my phone, but nope. I’m just completely confused about the month. I guess they both start with a soft “o” sound kind of. The picture was taken last night, mid-August. I wanted to ask the moth to spread his wings for the picture, so I could see his abdomen, but he kind of freaked me out, so I passed. He finally flew back out the door at about 2:30am. He seemed to fly from wall to another, not gracefully . . .like headfirst, top speed into one wall, then another. Poor guy had to have a concussion by the time he left.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!
Sandi
Sphinx Moths are powerful fliers, fast and with endurance, and quite beautiful in flight when they are not obstructed. Apparently they are not good at figuring mazes.
¶ Posted 23 August 2011 § ‡ ° Need help to identify a bug
Location: Bangalore, India
August 22, 2011 7:39 am
I took snaps of this bug which was sitting on my terrace. I found the shape of the wing very interesting, so I would appreciate if you could help me identifying this.
Signature: Rajesh Ranjan
Theretra lycetus
Dear Rajesh,
The wing shape and body structure of your moth is very typical of the family Sphingidae, the Sphinx Moths or Hawkmoths, to which it belongs. We believe this is a Yam Hawkmoth, Theretra nessus, and you may compare your individual to the photos on the Sphingidae of Hawaii webpage which indicates its typical range includes India, or the Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic website. We have a previous image of this species from Hawaii on our site, but it has been introduced to Hawaii where it is not native.
Ed Note: August 26, 2011
After an exchange of comments, we now agree that this is not a Yam Hawkmoth, but the closely related Theretra lycetus from the same genus.
¶ Posted 22 August 2011 § ‡ ° Pandora Sphynx Moth
Location: Southern California
August 7, 2011 7:58 pm
I just shot this image of what I believe to be a Pandora Sphynx Moth next to my front door in Simi Valley, California (Ventura County, just West of L.A. County)
Is the common tomato worm the larva for this beautiful moth? If not, what is?
I thought you might like the image too.
Signature: Brooks
Achemon Sphinx
Hi Brooks,
This is actually an Achemon Sphinx, not a Pandora Sphinx, but your confusion is understandable since both are in the same genus Eumorpha. Also, the Achemon Sphinx is in the same family as the Tomato Hornworm, but they feed on different plants, and the mature caterpillar of the Achemon Sphinx lacks a horn, as you can see in this image from our archives.
¶ Posted 11 August 2011 § ‡ ° 
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