Sphinx Moth
Location: Round lake IL (north of Chicago)
July 21, 2010 7:20 pm
The other night I stepped out onto my deck to see this beauty sipping nectar. The red flowers are Nicotiana and are 2 inches across. Definately larger then the Ruby throated Hummingbirds that also visit my yard. Later I saw it feed at my petunias. Is this a Carolina Sphinx? the patterns look wrong to my eyes, it can’t be a satellite sphinx, we are way to North.
Tom Helmka
Hi Tom,
Your photos are great at capturing the amazing mobility of the aerodynamic flight of a Sphinx Moth, but they are not ideal for identification purposes. Nonetheless, we are relatively confident that you observed a Pandora Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus, and you can read more about this lovely moth on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website which thankfully has a view of the undersides of the wings for comparison with your only image that has the features of the wings visible.
Thank you so much for your time! I really appreciate the effort you put into this. Your ID looks spot on.
Thanks again
Tom Helmka