Striped Morning Spinx Moth?
Hi. I live in San Diego, and this morning it was almost as though we were under attack by moths. Everywhere. Like a scene from The Birds, all over town. I have a slight insect phobia, so it was just a little creepy. Most of them were much smaller than the one in the photo attached, and appeared to be of a different type, but were hovering above the flowering bushes and trees sucking the nectar. At any rate, there were some that were very hummingbird-like, and I think I was successful using your site to identify this little fellow (lady?) resting on my black-eyed susan vine. Is there a time of year for a sudden hatch-out? Where are they coming from, and what are they doing? Besides eating and mating, at any rate? And what damage do their caterpillar babies do? In my fantasy world they would eat the aphids and whitefliess that are plaguing my roses, but I suppose what they really eat are fuschias and black eyed susan vines, huh? Thanks,
Kel in San Diego

Hi Kel,
Your identification of a Striped Morning Sphinx or White Lined Sphinx, Hyles lineata, is correct. We expect a population explosion of the Striped Morning Sphinx and its caterpillar this year in Southern California because of our unseasonal rains and the plethora of desert vegetation. Our good friend and neighbor, Julian Donahue, a lepidopterist, just sent us the following fact list on Hyles lineata: “1. This is So. Cal’s most common hawk moth, and are especially common in the deserts, where hundreds of moths can come to a single light in one night. 2. In “good” desert years, the larvae can be so abundant that desert highways are slick with their crushed bodies. 3. In the desert, larvae mostly prefer evening primroses (Camissonia and Oenothera), which are also in the fuschsia family (Onagraceae)–demonstrating once again that moths are excellent botanists! Tuttle (2007, The Hawk Moths of North America) also reports that in the West the larvae also feed on members of the plant family Nyctaginaceae [e.g., Abronia (sand verbena) and Mirabilis (four o'clock)]. 4. Native Americans have harvested the larvae as food. 5. United States’ most widely distributed hawk moth, occuring in every state except Alaska, as far north as southern Canada, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. 6. Pupation occurs in a loose cocoon of silk on or just below the surface of the ground. 7. Larvae have several color forms, ranging from green to black. 8. Two other related species in North America: the more widely distributed but much more northern Hyles gallii, which also occurs in Europe and feeds on similar hostplants, and Hyles euphorbiae, a native of Europe and Eurasia that has been introduced with only limited success to control pest species of spurge (Euphorbia species) in north central and northeastern U.S. and adjacent Canada. Julian”

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What’s this moth?
Hello there,
I live in Bakersfield, CA. When I was out at a horse farm, resting on a juniper was this very large moth, of which I have never seen before! I am trying to look it up, and I’m guessing it is a type of Sphinx, but was wondering which
kind, and abit of info. on it. Sure would love the help – it was so lovely! Sincerely,
Karen

Hi Karen,
Your Sphinx, Pachysphinx occidentalis, is called the Big Poplar Sphinx by Bill Oehlke, but we have also seen it called the Western Poplar Sphinx in other publications including BugGuide. It is found in riparian areas where the caterpillar food plants, willow and poplar grow. The species ranges in the western U.S. and Canada into Baja California. According to BugGuide, adults fly ifrom May to September in the southern part of the range, so we are guessing the unseasonal rains in California in fall 2007 have resulted in an early emergance this year.

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Hi Bugman,
We photographed this moth today on the back porch of our house on Edwards Air Force Base California. We’re in the western Mojave desert. I’ve been unable to find a resource to identify it and was hoping you could help. Wingtip to wingtip was about 7 inches.
William and Sara Wilson
Edwards AFB, CA

Hi William and Sara,
This is the second image we received today of a Big Poplar Sphinx, Pachysphinx occidentalis, also known as the Western Poplar Sphinx, from California.

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Cool Moth
Hello,
I live near Los Angeles, CA and saw this fella laying some eggs on a tire of a car the other day and thought I would take some pictures of it. It was sitting totally still and I wanted to see if I could get a closer look. I decided to see if I could get it to spread its wings a little so I took a little twig and touched its wing. To my surprise it spread its wings and started dancing about. It showed these really cool markings on it’s inner wing that looked like big eyes. The inner wings were brightly colored compared to the rest of its brown body. It was sure cool to see. I wanted to see what kind of moth it was and stumbled across your site. I am hoping you will be able answer my question. Best Regards,
Mike

Hi Mike,
We believe this is a One Eyed Sphinx, Smerinthus cerisyi, sometimes called Cerisy’s Sphinx. This species is found in California, but we thought it was limited to the more northern parts of the state. Your moth also resembles the Salicet Sphinx, Smerinthus saliceti, which is found in San Diego county and points south. Our money is on the former, the One Eyed Sphinx, but the two moths look remarkable similar. We may try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he has a definitive answer.

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