Subject: Unknown Moth
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
July 3, 2015 7:27 pm
Hi! Found this moth on our window screen around midnight. I would appreciate any help! Thank you.
Signature: Jordan Skaarup
Hi Jordan,
The pretty pink coloring and markings on the body and underwings of this Pink Spotted Hawkmoth, Agrias cingulata, are hidden by the upper wings in your image. See Sphingidae of the Americas for more information on the Pink Spotted Hawkmoth.
Update: July 4, 2015
Might this be a Waved Sphinx as Cesar Crash thinks? Here is a BugGuide image. The two look quite similar to us.
I would say that this one is Ceratomia undulosa.
Thanks Cesar,
Can you point out why by chance? I can’t seem to decide as they look so similar.
Well, something was not familiar to me, couldn’t tell why, but made me check another possibility, then I found that.
Now, I put them side by side to find some differences, check it out:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NUqzhN4nKJU/VZk_apenmeI/AAAAAAAAeZw/Wxr6Q40rG3c/s1600/Ceratomia_Agrius.jpg
I think that my photo is quite different: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/01/17/pink-spotted-hawkmoth-from-brazil/
And I think we have another Ceratomia here: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2006/06/28/pink-spotted-hawkmoth-7/
Thanks for the nice graphic Cesar. With similarly marked species, and much individual variation within species, there are certain identifications that continue to give us problems.
Ok. In my opinion, the dark area araund the light spot in Agrius may be used as a rule, because I see it in all Agrius images in BugGuide, but I don’t see it in any Ceratomia images.
But I see that Dolba is quite simmilar to Agrius too and intermediate to Manduca, it’s pretty hard to tell. http://bugguide.net/node/view/39106/bgpage
If you need to differentiate South American specimens, I recommend http://www.brazilhawkmoths.com/ it has comparisons between wing patterns.
Thanks Cesar
Ok. In my opinion, the dark area araund the light spot in Agrius may be used as a rule, because I see it in all Agrius images in BugGuide, but I don’t see it in any Ceratomia images.
But I see that Dolba is quite simmilar to Agrius too and intermediate to Manduca, it’s pretty hard to tell. http://bugguide.net/node/view/39106/bgpage
If you need to differentiate South American specimens, I recommend http://www.brazilhawkmoths.com/ it has comparisons between wing patterns.
Well, something was not familiar to me, couldn’t tell why, but made me check another possibility, then I found that.
Now, I put them side by side to find some differences, check it out:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NUqzhN4nKJU/VZk_apenmeI/AAAAAAAAeZw/Wxr6Q40rG3c/s1600/Ceratomia_Agrius.jpg
I think that my photo is quite different: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/01/17/pink-spotted-hawkmoth-from-brazil/
And I think we have another Ceratomia here: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2006/06/28/pink-spotted-hawkmoth-7/