Subject: moth
Location: Merced, Ca 95340
January 18, 2017 2:57 pm
While cleaning out my shop, I found this long dead beauty.
Signature: Tom Tanioka
Dear Tom,
This beautiful Sphinx Moth is in the genus Smerinthus, and Sphingidae of the Americas California page lists three possible species that look very similar. Though based on images posted to Sphingidae of the Americas, it looks most to us like a Salicet Sphinx, the range is listed as “valleys and along streamsides from Mexico City north to west Texas, New Mexico, southern Arizona, and extreme southern California” and since Merced is in the middle of the state, we suspect it is more likely the wider ranging One Eyed Sphinx which is also pictured on Sphingidae of the Americas. We will contact Bill Oehlke to get his opinion.