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Pandora Sphinx Moth

Eumorpha pandorus

Description:

First described in 1806 by Jacob Hübner as Daphnis pandorus (In relation to the Asian counterpart, Daphnis nerii), the Pandora Sphinx Moth, Eumorpha pandorus, is a lovely olive green moth, with darker green patterning on the inside of the forewing, around the head, and lower on the forewing. There are sometimes pink marks near the body of the moth and on the hind wing. The hindwing is mainly white with a black spot, usually in a blotchy pattern.

Habitat:

Larvae, which are quite variably colored, feed on: Grape and Virginia Creeper

Notes:

This was #1 on my moth hunting (no kill) list! I cannot believe I saw it! My friend called me yesterday (Yes, teenagers do know the phone feature) and said she found this at her house yesterday. She texted me a photo and I identified it for her, and told her if she finds it again, she could let me know. Sure enough, she found this and another sphinx moth (Sphinx kalmiae, I believe) again tonight. She offered to bring them over, and when I saw them, I was amazed! The moth is so amazing! This moth won the Winkflash Nighttime Photo Contest, which ended August 28th, 2012. Thanks to all who voted!

No species ID suggestions

39 Comments (1–25)

Uday
Uday 8 months ago

:)

Jakubko
Jakubko 8 months ago

Thanks again, Uday! No problem!

Uday
Uday 8 months ago

welcome!
btw thanks for following me :)

Jakubko
Jakubko 8 months ago

Thanks so much, Uday! I was surprised you liked the second photo the best! I thought it had a tad too much exposure! Thanks again for your nice comment!

Uday
Uday 8 months ago

nice series
loved second pic most!

Jakubko
Jakubko 8 months ago

Thanks, Fyn!

Fyn  Kynd
Fyn Kynd 8 months ago

Cool!

Jakubko
Jakubko 8 months ago

Thanks Noel and António!

Noel Buensuceso
Noel Buensuceso 8 months ago

Congratulations J!

Congrats J :)

Jakubko
Jakubko 8 months ago

This moth won the Winkflash Nighttime Photo Contest, which ended August 28th, 2012. Thanks to all who voted!

Jakubko
Jakubko 9 months ago

Thanks so much, Argy!

Argy Bee
Argy Bee 9 months ago

Fabulous moth and nice shots too J.

Jakubko
Jakubko 9 months ago

Thanks, Neil! I'm glad you liked my mini research paper! :)

NeilDazet
NeilDazet 9 months ago

Awesome spotting Jake! I love the photos and the descriptive notes!

Jakubko
Jakubko 9 months ago

Thank you, Mayra!

MayraSpringmann
MayraSpringmann 9 months ago

Fabulous!

Jakubko
Jakubko 9 months ago

After more research, finding the gender of sphinx moths seems very difficult. It seems like a pinned specimen would be ideal to find the gender, though I will submit to www.BugGuide.net, and see if they will be able to help. Thanks again, Karen!

Jakubko
Jakubko 9 months ago

Thanks Karen! I'll do some looking into that! Thanks again!

KarenL
KarenL 9 months ago

Hi Jacob, only males have both an undivided frenular hook and a retinaculum. Also all male hawk moths have a partial comb of hairs along their antennae (from Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphingidae)

Jakubko
Jakubko 9 months ago

Does anyone know how to tell if the Pandora Sphinx Moth is a male or a female? I know antennae is a common indicator, but sphinx moths really don't have much of a variation on the antennae. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jakubko
Jakubko 10 months ago

Thanks, Louisa! It was definitely something not to forget!

Louisa
Louisa 10 months ago

Congrats on spotting #1 on your moth list! Awesome!

Jakubko
Jakubko 10 months ago

Thanks AnnvanWijgerden!

AnnvanWijgerden
AnnvanWijgerden 10 months ago

A true beauty!

New York, USA

Lat: 42.35, Long: -74.02

Spotted on Jul 19, 2012
Submitted on Jul 20, 2012

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