Sphinx sequoiae

Sequoia sphinx
Sphinx sequoiae ♂
Sphinx sequoiae ♂ △
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Sphinx
Species:
S. sequoiae
Binomial name
Sphinx sequoiae
Boisduval, 1868
Synonyms
  • Sphinx dollii engelhardti Clark, 1919

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. It is particularly common in juniper and cedar forests, like those east of the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest.

The species was first identified by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1868.

Description

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. 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. There is a single generation of adult moths per year which flies between May and August. Adults are nocturnal, and are attracted to light. They feed on nectar from the flowers of western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) and California buckeye (Aesculus californica).

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. They are hosted by the California juniper (Juniperus californica), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and California incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens). Sphinx sequoiae eggs are roughly 2 mm in length and width, and have a light, bluish-green colour.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. 1 2 "Silkmoths". Silkmoths.bizland.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "PNW Moths | Sphinx sequoiae". pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  4. ↑ de Boisduval, J.B.A.E. (1868). "Lépidoptères de la Californie". Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 12.
  5. 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.
  6. 1 2 Heiman, Maury J. (24 June 2009). "Species Sphinx sequoiae - Hodges#7814". bugguide.net. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  7. ↑ "Sequoia sphinx Sphinx sequoiae Boisduval, 1868 | Butterflies and Moths of North America". www.butterfliesandmoths.org. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  8. ↑ 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.