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.
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.
help identifying this moth please
I’d love some help on this one! I live in NH and found this beauty on my house one morning around 9 am. Best regards,
Colleen L. Jones
Hi Colleen,
We believe with 95% certainty that this is a female Promethea Moth, Callosamia promethia, but the closely related Tulip Tree Silk Moth, Callosamia angulifera, is very similar. We found a Canadian Biodiversity website that has a side by side comparison of the two species. Males of the species are much smaller and darker.
Beautiful S. Arizona moth
Hi there. I have seen the most bizarre insects since moving to Southern Arizona (almost on the Mexico border)! Thanks to your site, I’ve been able to identify most of them, except for this beautiful moth that we found on the wall near our front door this morning. Can you tell me what it is?
Many thanks!
Tamara Holcomb Page
Bisbee, AZ
Beautiful S. Arizona moth (found it!)
Please disregard my just-sent email. After a little more searching, I did find it on your site. Bill Oehlke identified it as “Saturniidae, Eupackardia calleta” On the posting I found, he had asked what county it was from. We are in Cochise County, in the Bisbee, AZ historic district. The moth was photographed on7/21/08. Enjoy the photo in my previous email (I didn’t want to burden you with another attachment)! Again, Many thanks!
Tamara
Hi Tamara,
Far from disregarding your previous email, we have chosen instead to post it with your lovely image of Eupackardia calleta. We are copying Bill Oehlke on this response so he can add your location data to the information he is compiling on this species with its limited range.
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.
Please help identify
Hello,
I am from Southern Idaho (Jerome) and found these two beautiful insects feasting in my garden (well they aren’t feasting in the picture but they will probably be hungry after) anyway – I don’t know what they are? Horneyts? Flies? Squash Bugs? I didn’t write you right away because I was afraid I would receive a "boy your a dummy" response but I searched and searched and didn’t find this insect on your site. Close, but not exact markings. Can you help? Thank you so much for your time. I know you are very busy! Thank you,
Cindy Flowers
Hi Cindy,
We are going to begin by gently chastising you because we were hurt by your implication that we would call you a dummy when you have a legitimate question. It should be apparent that we answer the same question repeatedly (just look at our Dobsonfly pages) and we have even had to identify many times this month our July Bug of the Month, the Cecropia Moth, despite it being posted at the top of our home page. Your Wasp Mimic Clearwing Moths in the family Sesiidae challenged us. We found two possibilities on BugGuide that did not fully convince us, so we turned to the Moth Photographers Group where Paranthrene robiniae looked promising. Then we returned to BugGuide with that name and located the common name of Western Poplar Clearwing, but not too much in the way of information. We then found an excellent Forest Pest page that profiles your lovely moths because the larvae are borers in the wood of willows and poplars and extreme infestations can be very damaging to trees. Your photo is also quite beautiful and we would have been thrilled to receive it even if this wasn’t a new species for our site.
¶ Posted 20 July 2008 § ‡ ° Isabella Tiger Moth eggs, etc
Hello Bugman.
I just found your egg page and I absolutely love it! I thought you might like these photos of Isabella Tiger Moth laying eggs and the resulting larve, otherwise known as Wooly Bear Caterpillar. She laid the eggs on my door jam, and I am rearing them, at least until fall. They overwinter as caterpillars so I won’t try to keep them all winter. They are eating nettles.
Betsy
Hi Betsy,
We hope you will continue to provide us with Isabella Tiger Moth, Pyrrharctia isabella, metamorphosis images as the caterpillars grow and pupate.
3
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.
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