Subject: What’s this moth?
Location: Sumner Co, KS, USA
September 20, 2016 1:43 pm
We live in Kansas, and found this moth in our garage. It really really looks like the Blackburn’s Sphinx Moth, but how can that be since we live in Kansas?!
Signature: Sincerely
According to Sphingidae of the Americas, Blackburn’s Sphinx, Manduca blackburni, was: “Previously known from all the main islands, [but] this rare endemic Hawaiian sphinx moth is now known only from Maui.” Your moth, the Carolina Sphinx, Manduca sexta, looks similar to Blackburn’s Sphinx because it is in the same genus. Because its caterpillar, the Tobacco Hornworm, feeds on tomato plants, the Carolina Sphinx is relatively common across North America. You can read more about the Carolina Sphinx on Sphingidae of the Americas.