Hubbard's Small Silkmoth Caterpillar

Sphingid Larva
April 9, 2010
Picture taken last summer in our yard in Tucson, Arizona. I remember looking it up and found it once, but lost the ID. I think it fed on ironwood. Found a couple specimens crawling around. Can’t remember the month, but thinking it was late summer. Most distinctive were the mirror-like scales running the length of the body.
Lisa Rakestraw
Tucson

Hubbard's Small Silkmoth Caterpillar

Dear Lisa,
Despite the name Syssphinx hubbardi, the Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth Caterpillar is not a Sphinx in the family Sphingidae, but a Royal Moth in the tribe Ceratocampinae.  BugGuide reports this species from Arizona and New Mexico, though it is also known from California, Nevada and Texas.

Hubbard's Small Silkmoth Caterpillar

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