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Amorpha juglandis
Wood Sphinx moth. Specimen 7-10 cm in length. Very furry, with colors ranging from deep brown to light pink. Beautiful highlighted ridges on ends of wings.
Deciduous woodlands; in areas with walnut, butternut, hickory, alder, beech, hazelnut and/or hop-hornbeam trees (common foods for caterpillars)
Found clinging to wooden deck on an overcast day. Clung for hours (presumably asleep, due to their nocturnal nature), disappearing overnight. A beautiful moth I had never seen before in all the years I've lived in Georgia.
Nice find!
I believe this beautiful moth is actually a Blinded Sphinx (Paonias excaecata) rather than a Walnut Sphinx (Amorpha juglandis). The distinctive scalloped edge to the wings along with the dark along the dorsal thorax (the back) are not consistent with the Walnut Sphinx.
You can compare here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/4144
Either way, this is a very cool moth!
Spotted on Aug 30, 2015
Submitted on Jan 3, 2016
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