Subject: White Lined Sphinx Moth?
Location: California
April 21, 2017 11:47 pm
I believe this is a White Lined sphinx, based on pictures I saw, but if there is a species that looks similar to the White Lined, I’d be curious to know what this really is. I also posted this a while back:
Signature: Brittany
Dear Brittany,
You are correct that this is a Whitelined Sphinx. We doubt that it has displaced the Carolina Sphinx as the caterpillars have different food sources. Caterpillars of the Carolina Sphinx, known as Tobacco Hornworms, feed on the leaves of tomato and related plants. If no one is growing tomato plants near you, you will not have the adult moths nearby.
Thanks for the confirmation. These are beautiful moths. Still I also miss the Carolina Sphinx. I thought our neighbors were still growing tomatoes, and we also had a couple but they had died recently, and the neighbor’s tomato plants may have also died some time back, which may explain why we are not seeing the Carolina Sphinx now. Hopefully the Whitelined Sphinx doesn’t suffer the same fate. I enjoy catching these moths and releasing them. What do Whitelined Sphinx caterpillars feed on out of curiosity?
We have not had any Los Angeles reports of Carolina Sphinx sightings, but we expect if they are going to put in an appearance, it may be soon.
I think I just found one at my house in Lakewood Ca…..which is in L.A. County