White Lined Sphinx Moth
Location: Saxtons River, VT
September 1, 2010 7:31 am
Hi Daniel,
I sent in the photos of the Giant Ichneumon last week that you are using for the September Bug of the Month. (Thanks, again!)
I thought you might like these two photos I took of a White Lined Sphinx Moth. It was on my phlox one evening. The interesting thing about these moths is, they are not the least bit bothered by having a camera stuck in their faces as they fly about, quite unlike most moths!
KT
Bedstraw Hawkmoth
Hi KT,
Your action photos are wonderful, but we believe you have misidentified your moth. Rather than the White Lined Sphinx, we believe this to be the closely related Bedstraw Hawkmoth, Hyles gallii. You can compare your images to the photos posted on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website that allows you to search by state or country to try to identify moths in the family Sphingidae. The Bedstraw Hawkmoth is quite common coast to coast in the northern portions of North America throughout Canada and into Alaska as well as the northern portions of Europe and Asia. Bill Oehlke indicates that along the Rocky Mountains it is also reported as far south as Mexico.
Bedstraw Hawkmoth
Hi Daniel,
Thanks very much for that clarification. I was going by another moth that I saw on your site, which is the stock photo that was posted on August 17. Interesting that they are so similar. The photographs on Bill Oehlke’s site certainly do look like ‘my’ moth. Just for fun, I sent him the same two shots.
KT
Hi again KT,
We should probably have clarified that the Bedstraw Hawkmoth and the White Lined Sphinx are closely related moths in the same genus, hence your understandable confusion.
Hi Daniel,
Yes, they sure are very similar! I did send the photos to Bill Oehlke and this was the result! Very cool!! http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/vtWindhamsph.htm
It’s nice to know there are others out there who are as interested in these creatures.
Have a great day,
KT
¶ Posted 01 September 2010 § ‡ ° Coolest looking green moth looking thing I have ever seen!
Location: Raleigh, NC
August 30, 2010 4:39 pm
Ok so bugs normally creep me out and I run as quickly in the opposite direction as I can…but this is the prettiest bug I have ever seen! I have actually been back outside of my apartment several times in the last hour just to look at it. This moth looking bug has been outside of my apartment on the wall out of the sun for the last 4 hours. Hasn’t moved an inch! I have never seen another bug like this in my whole life, its wings look like a piece of art. Please help me identify this bug that I’ve been staring at for the few hours. I’d love to know anything else about this bug like if it is common to this area because I haven’t ever seen another one.
Curious bug gazer
Pandora Sphinx
Dear Curious bug gazer,
Your lovely moth is a Pandora Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus, a species that ranges from Florida to southern Canada and west to Oklahoma according to Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
¶ Posted 31 August 2010 § ‡ ° moth
Location: southern wisconsin
August 29, 2010 9:27 pm
Aug 30th, moth on our deck in s wisconsin. what is it?
jw
White Lined Sphinx
Hi jw,
YOur moth is a White Lined Sphinx or Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata. This is one of the most common Hawk Moths in the family Sphingidae, and it can be found in all forty eight lower states and much of Canada. You may read more about the White Lined Sphinx on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
¶ Posted 30 August 2010 § ‡ ° Nessus Sphinx in Oklahoma?
Location: Seminole, Oklahoma
August 25, 2010 9:12 pm
Ever since finding your site, I have been amazed by the pictures of the sphinx moths. I thought it would be so cool to see one, and being a bug kid and never seeing one around, I figured they weren’t native to Oklahoma. I was waiting on my family to get ready to go out to dinner, and saw all these insects on my oak outside so I grabbed my camera. There were butterflies, roaches, flesh flies and tons of horse flies all feasting on the sap (I’m guessing) on the side of my oak. As I was taking photos, along comes what I believe to be a Nessus Sphinx! The picture is not good… but maybe you can confirm from it for me? It was awesome! Possibly a dream come true… Thanks so much!
Amy Goodman
Nessus Sphinx
Hi Amy
Even with the lack of image clarity, the markings on the Nessus Sphinx make the identification easy. The Nessus Sphinx is native to Oklahoma, as are numerous other Sphinx Moths. Bill Oehlke’s excellent website has a list of Oklahoma sightings.
¶ Posted 26 August 2010 § ‡ ° Moth that looks like a catfish
Location: Sarasota, FL
August 25, 2010 10:55 pm
This moth was just chillin on the door frame outside of my house this morning. He didn’t move. I couldn’t see his eyes. Very weird. I’ve never seen it before, so I posted it’s picture on facebook. No one could tell me either. Good luck!
Sarah Hutchinson
Mournful Sphinx
Hi Sarah,
We don’t know why we have such a difficult time remembering that this unmistakable looking moth is a Mournful Sphinx, Enyo lugubris. We have to look up its name each time a photo is submitted to us. Bill Oehlke’s website is the best place to search for Sphinx Moths in the family Sphingidae.
¶ Posted 26 August 2010 § ‡ ° buggies
Location: port orange, FL USA
August 25, 2010 4:21 pm
hello, i found 2 larva? maybe in my backyard, and i have no idea what they could be. they are light brown/ beige in color with black spots and have no visible mouth or eyes or any other hole for that matter. one end moves and has a spike-like thing on the tip. the other end is hard. i found them both underground, and they came up when i was doing some gardening, in the afternoon. i would love to know what they are and what they will become.
the green thumb
Tersa Sphinx Pupa
Dear the green thumb,
This is the pupa of the Tersa Sphinx, Xylophanes tersa, and you may compare your photo to an image posted to BugGuide and you may read additional information on the BugGuide information page.
Hummingbird Moth
Location: Solsberry,Indiana
August 24, 2010 9:10 pm
Hi,
I thought you might like the these images. Pretty sure these are hummingbird moths though I’m not certain what type. These are fun to watch in the evening…beautiful.
Love your website!
Holly Sciscoe
Carolina Sphinx
Hi Holly,
This is a Sphinx Moth or Hawkmoth in the family Sphingidae, the members of which are frequently mistaken for hummingbirds. This is one of two species in the genus Manduca. We believe it is the Carolina Sphinx, Manduca sexta (see Bill Oehlke’s website), though it might be the Five Spotted Hawkmoth, Manduca quinquemaculata, also on Bill Oehlke’s website. Both species have caterpillars that feed on the leaves of tomato plants. Your photos are awesome and quite detailed action images.
Carolina Sphinx
¶ Posted 25 August 2010 § ‡ ° Distinctions between Hyles lineata and Hyles livornica
Location: Boone County Iowa
August 17, 2010 2:42 pm
What is used to split/differentiate the genus Hyles into the two species lineata and livornica? I caught one or the other yesterday evening and wanted to know how to positively id it.
Thanks
John Taylor Biology Teacher @ Woodward Academy
Stock Photo of Hyles species
Hi John,
This is a great question, and your photograph is stunning. Hyles livornica, the Striped Hawkmoth and Hyles lineata, the Striped Morning Sphinx or White Lined Sphinx are very similar looking species that may take an experienced expert in the family Sphingidae to properly explain how to differentiate them from one another. We can tell you that often a photograph is not sufficient to identify certain difficult species where actual inspection of the specimen is required for conclusive identification. In the case of these two moths, the Striped Hawkmoth is an Old World species and the Striped Morning Sphinx or White Lined Sphinx is a New World species. While it is possible that there have been transoceanic introductions, we can only speculate that the ranges of the two species are separated by large bodies of water. We are not certain if any studies have been conducted on hybridization of these two species. We would not be surprised if the two moths are subspecies of one another, but that is a personal opinion with no basis in scientific research. Though we don’t generally like to cite Wikipedia, there is a distribution map of Hyles livornica available on Wikipedia. The Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic website has a nice profile of Hyles livornica. For information on the White Lined Sphinx we recommend Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
Damiel,
Thanks for your prompt reply. The photo isn’t mine, it is a stock photo I got from the net. I was just using it as an example. What I hear you saying is that the moth I captured is likely the Striped/White Lined lineata variety. Thanks also for the suggestions of sites to visit.
John Taylor
Hi again John,
Thanks for indicating that the photo is not your image. We are recaptioning that image as Hyles species since we do not have the necessary knowledge to differentiate the two species. We may try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he can assist.
Bill Oehlke responds
Hi Daniel,
I only know the two species are distinct. There are morphological characters to distinguish them, but I do not know what those characters/features are. I would only be able to differentiate between them based on location.
Bill Oehlke
¶ Posted 17 August 2010 § ‡ ° 
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