Sphinx sequoiae
| Sequoia sphinx | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sphinx sequoiae ♂ | |
 | |
| Sphinx sequoiae ♂ △ | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Sphingidae |
| Genus: | Sphinx |
| Species: | S. sequoiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Sphinx sequoiae | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Sphinx sequoiae, the sequoia sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in the United States from Oregon south through California, Nevada, and south-eastern Utah to Arizona and further south into Mexico's northern Baja California.[2] It is particularly common in juniper and cedar forests, like those east of the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest.[3]
The species was first identified by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1868.[2][4]
Description
[edit]The wingspan of the sequoia sphinx is 48–68 mm, with a forewing length of 24–26 mm. This makes it the smallest species of its genus other than Sphinx dollii, for which it is sometimes confused though they inhabit different regions.[3][5] It has ash-gray, pointed forewings with several horizontal black dashes; its hindwings are a monotone ash-gray. The thorax and abdomen are likewise gray, and it has a white-and-brown checkered fringe.[3] There is a single generation of adult moths per year which flies between May and August.[5][6] Adults are nocturnal, and are attracted to light.[3] They feed on nectar from the flowers of western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) and California buckeye (Aesculus californica).[7]
The larvae are green with white, red-brown, and yellow-brown spots; they have a caudal horn that is short, blunt, and yellow-tipped, and white, black-rimmed spiracles.[5] They are hosted by the California juniper (Juniperus californica), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and California incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens).[6] Sphinx sequoiae eggs are roughly 2 mm in length and width, and have a light, bluish-green colour.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- 1 2 3 4 "PNW Moths | Sphinx sequoiae". pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ↑ de Boisduval, J.B.A.E. (1868). "Lépidoptères de la Californie". Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 12.
- 1 2 3 Powell, Jerry A.; Opler, Paul A. (2009). Moths of Western North America. Berkeley (Calif.): University of California press. ISBN 978-0-520-94377-3.
- 1 2 Heiman, Maury J. (24 June 2009). "Species Sphinx sequoiae - Hodges#7814". bugguide.net. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ↑ "Sequoia sphinx Sphinx sequoiae Boisduval, 1868 | Butterflies and Moths of North America". www.butterfliesandmoths.org. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ↑ Peterson, Alvah (1965). "Some Eggs of Moths among the Sphingidae, Saturniidae, and Citheroniidae (Lepidoptera)". The Florida Entomologist. 48 (4): 213–219. doi:10.2307/3493773. ISSN 0015-4040.
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- Sphinx (genus)
- Moths of North America
- Lepidoptera of Mexico
- Fauna of California
- Fauna of the Northwestern United States
- Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula
- Fauna of the Great Basin
- Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
- Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands
- Natural history of Baja California
- Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
- Natural history of the Mojave Desert
- Natural history of Nevada
- Moths described in 1868
- Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval
- Sphinginae stubs