Overkill: Sphinx Moth sprayed to death!!!
(08/15/2008) is it as dangerous as it looks?
Hi,
my little brother saw this bug upside down on our porch in Italy. He killed it with wasp spray, so it’s all wet, which might make it a little harder to recognize. I hope you can still get an idea of what it is… Thanks a lot!
Esther
Sphinx Moth Exterminated
Hi Ester,
If ever the word “overkill” could be used regarding the use of pesticides, your photo ranks a close third after the global use of DDT and the statewide spraying of Malathion against the Med Fly in California in the 1980s. It appears your brother used an entire spray can of foaming pesticide to dispatch one harmless Sphinx Moth. This is textbook unnecessary carnage.
I have no idea what kind of bug this is
My name is Kathleen and I live in Pasadena, Texas. I found this bug outside my house on a tent in the backyard. I asked friends if they knew what kind of bug it was, and none of them knew. They also said they had never seen a bug like this before. Oddly enough, I saw another one like that the other night in my backyard. If you could please tell me what kind of bug it is, I would appreciate it. Its become a mystery to us all. Thank you,
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen,
You can now impress your friends with the name of an insect that begins and ends with the letter X. This is a Xylophanes tersa, the Tersa Sphinx. We are copying Bill Oehlke on this reply so he can add your location information to his comprehensive species distribution data.
¶
Posted 12 August 2008
§
‡
°
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
No question, really – just another Hummingbird Clearwing Moth photo if you’d like to use it. Seen for the first time by several neighbors on one day in August, 2008.
Kim Gould
Aliquippa , PA
Hi Kim,
We have been getting numerous excellent images of Clearwing Moths in the genus Hemaris recently, and it is time to post a photo on our homepage. We have difficulty distinguishing the different members of the genus as there is much variability within the species as well as similarity between the species. We will copy Bill Oehlke on our reply so he can utilize your location data for his records, and also perhaps he can identify the species for us.
¶
Posted 06 August 2008
§
‡
°
catarpilar
Hello Daniel,
Thanks for your answer, i found another one in the garden its the same as the first one but different collour, is it the same?? and the moth on the wall is that one of the catarpilar’s it was 5 cm Kind regards
Jeannette
Hi Again Jeannette,
Your moth is unrelated to your caterpillar. This is a Poplar Hawk Moth, Laothoe populi, and you can read about it on the UK Moth site. In the future, please limit your identification requests to one species per email as it makes our archiving and posting process difficult if multiple species are included together.
¶
Posted 24 July 2008
§
‡
°
Big Poplar Sphinx?
Hello …
This pair of Moths were photographed in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, near Edgewood, on 7/18/’08. The wings across the widest span (folded) were approximately four inches. They look to be Big Poplar Sphinx, Pachysphinx modesta, but I was pretty sure the range for the Big Poplar was east of the Mississippi. Am I wrong? Subspecies? I know you are busy, any thought would be appreciated. (wonderful site) Thanks …
Richard In Illinois
Hi Richard,
Pachysphinx modesta, also known as the Modest Sphinx as well as the Poplar Sphinx and Big Poplar Sphinx, is listed on Bill Oehlke’s website as being sighted in Illinois. We are copying him on this response so he can add your data to the comprehensive information he is compiling on species distribution.
Correction: from Bill Oehlke
Richard, If you send images to me as a jpg attachment I wil do the id They are most likely P. occidentalis in New Mexico. I would like to use image with credit to you on a Santa Fe County pictoral thumbnail page that I wil create?? P. modesta is generally more eastern, but they do fly into extreme northeastern NM and into eastern Washington. I have to upadate my page for range info on modesta. Most of the western Pachysphinx are proving to be occidentalis.
Ed. Note: OOps, we misunderstood the photo location in the body of the letter and used the Illinois location in the signature.
¶
Posted 22 July 2008
§
‡
°
Tagged: bug love
Dear Mr Bugman,
I received these pictures asking me if it was an Atlas moth, is it or is it a "humming bird moth"? It was found at the Umatilla Chemical Demilitaration Facility on the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Hermiston Oregon. The specimen was released after the pictures were taken. Thank You,
Don Gillis
Natural Resources Manager
Hi Don,
Your indiginous moth appears to be a Western Poplar Sphinx, Pachysphinx occidentalis, which is found from Western Canada to Baja California. We are going to seek the advice of Bill Oehlke as well as copying him on this response since he is compiling comprehensive data on species sightings.
Confirmation: from Bill Oehlke
Daniel, Pachysphinx occidentalis from Hermiston, Umatilla County, Oregon. Norte distinct am line which is blurry in modesta. Modesta also tend to have more of a blue grey colour while occidentalis is yellower. They are tricky to tell apart. Both fly in Umatilla County.
¶
Posted 22 July 2008
§
‡
°
Mystery Sphinx Moth Identified!!
Scrolling through your caterpillar pages, I recognized Xylophanes pluto http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/xpluto.htm as the larvae of the moth in the photo I sent you a few days ago. I’m raising another one now. Yesterday it molted and changed from bright green to deep brown in a matter of hours. Thanks for your fascinating web site!
Sascha
We are happy you identified a caterpillar we did not have a chance to write back to you about.
Actually the insect I was trying to identify was the Xylophanes Pluto moth, not the caterpillar. I’m sending the photo again, since I don’t believe you have one in your database.
Keep up the wonderful work!
Sascha
Hi again Sacha,
Thanks so much for sending us the photo of the adult Xylophanes pluto, but we are a bit confused as you mention a larva and we missed you original email. Do you have a caterpillar photo to add to this posting? Can you provide a location to add to the posting? Thanks. We are copying Bill Oehlke on this email as he is keeping comprehensive data on the species distribution of Sphinx Moths in North America.
Update: (07/20/2008)
Hi Daniel, Here is the text of my original letter, sent on 7/16/08: Maybe you can help me identify this sphinx moth which hatched from a caterpillar I found on my pentas here in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It is similar to the Virginia Creeper sphinx , but different enough that I think it’s something else. I checked through the “moths” sections and didn’t see an identical one. Any idea? Thanks, Sascha In the first letter, I neglected to mention that I’d hatched the moth – or rather, sheltered the larva so I could watch it pupate and hatch. A few days after sending that letter, I recognized the Xylophanes Pluto caterpillar on your website. I didn’t get a chance to photograph the first caterpillar before it changed, but here are some photos of the one I’m currently watching. Although this one is the brown morph, the adult moth featured in the photo was from the green morph. Bill Oehlke might like to know that there are also Tersa Sphinx caterpillars on the same penta bush. I am happy to provide information and photographs for his efforts and yours.
Sascha Rybinski
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Hi again Sascha,
Thanks for the additional information, the wonderful new photos of the caterpillar, and for assisting Bill Oehlke.
¶
Posted 20 July 2008
§
‡
°
Help with moth ID
Hi Bugman,
I love this site! A friend took these photos of a large moth (with a long proboscis) while visiting in northern New Mexico recently. We would love to know what it is. Thanks for your help.
Kathleen in AZ
Hi Kathleen,
This is one of two closely related species, the Carolina Sphinx, Manduca sexta, or the Five Spotted Hawk Moth, Manduca quinquemaculata. Both have caterpillars that feed voraciously on the leaves of tomato plants and other related plants in the family Solanaceae. This is a wonderful action photo.
¶
Posted 19 July 2008
§
‡
°
I couldn’t find this moth on your site.
\Hi Bugman,
Thanks for helping me with my bug questions. I found this moth hanging out on a curb at about 3am in Clarksville, Tennessee. This moth is about 3 inches or so long and its wings are colored like tree bark. I tried to scoot the moth onto my hand to take a picture, but the moth flew away, at least that’s what I thought. I noticed the moth heading towards some roses and I am proud to say I saw one of these giants feed for the first time. This moth’s proboscis has got to be at least 6 inches long and to see it "roll out" is amazing. Anyway, I couldn’t find this moth on your site, but I’m assuming it is some type of Sphynx. Anything you could tell me would be great. Thanks for your help, hard work and dedication,
Adam in Tennessee
Hi Adam,
We have several images of your species of moth, the Pink Spotted Hawkmoth, Agrius cingulata. Your action photo is quite spectacular. We are copying Bill Oehlke on this reponse since he is keeping records of the distribution of sphinx moths on his own awesome website.
¶
Posted 11 July 2008
§
‡
°
Hi, we found these bugs in the road, we think they are privit hawks but arent 100% We moved them out of the road because they would have been squashed and are now in our garden. We live in the south of england.
Danny
Hi Danny,
Your identification of the Privet Hawk-Moth, Sphinx ligustri, is correct.
¶
Posted 10 July 2008
§
‡
°
Tagged: bug love
a picture for you
Bugman,
this is an unidentified sphinx that I suspect is in the genus Eumorpha but doesn’t match the plates in Covell. I photographed it around June 25 at my porch located at 3500 feet elevation in the blue ridge mountains of nw North Carolina. Any help with id would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
J. M. Lynch
hi J.M.,
Your mysterious Sphinx most closely resembles the Achemon Sphinx, Eumorpha achemon, that ranges in North Carolina, but the markings don’t look correct. The camera angle of your photo is not ideal for exact identification as there is some perspective distortion that could be confusing both of us. We will be copying a true Sphingidae expert, Bill Oehlke, to see if he can provide a conclusive identification for both you and our site. If this is a new species in North Carolina, Bill will be most excited to include it in his comprehensive species distribution statistics. We eagerly await Bill Oehlke’s response.
Identification
Hi Daniel, The mysterious NC sphinx is Darapsa myron. Are you posting these images somewhere that I can visit them? I already have check lists for all of the states and provinces. Now I am trying to get to the county level. The data really is of no use to me unless I can ascertain the county.
Bill Oehlke
¶
Posted 02 July 2008
§
‡
°
zoomed in pic of moth
Hi bugman,
I wrote a week ago asking what kind of moth this was. I was looking at the pic I emailed in and noticed I couldn’t zoom in very much before it got blurry. So I cropped the original (I was too lazy to get my hard drive out and get the original the first time.) So here is a better zoom in of it. Like I said before we found it in our front yard on a rose bush, and we live in Turkey, close to Adana. I thought it was such a beautiful moth. Thanks,
Steph
Hi Steph,
Thanks for resending your photo of an Oleander Hawk Moth, Deilephila nerii or Daphnis nerii. This truly beautiful moth has an extensive range due to the use of its larval food plant, the Oleander, in landscaping. Bill Oehlke has the following information posted to his awesome website: “primarily associated with ‘the southern Mediterranean region, North Africa and the Middle East to Afghanistan (Ebert, 1969). Along the Mediterranean, there is no clear distinction between resident and migrant populations. Permanent populations exist in suitable locations in Sicily, Crete and Cyprus; however, over a number of favourable years further colonies may be established in those islands and also in southern Italy and southern Greece, all of which die out during a hard winter.’ and ‘Extra-limital range. From Afghanistan eastward to south-east Asia and the Philippines; as a migrant, it penetrates northwards into central Europe and central southern Asia. In 1974, this species was recorded as having established itself in Hawaii (Beardsley, 1979).’ “
¶
Posted 29 June 2008
§
‡
°
rss
