Hummingbird and Sphinx Moths Common to Colorado
Hummingbird and Sphinx Moths Common to Colorado
Eumorpha achemon (Drury)
Ceratomia amyntor (Geyer)
Hemaris thysbe (Fabricius)
Hyles gallaii (Rottenburg)
Hyles lineata (Fabricius)
Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth)
Manduca sexta (Linnaeus)
Paonias myops (J.E. Smith)
Pachysphinx modesta (Harris)
Pachysphinx occidentalis (H. Edwards)
Smerinthus jamaicensis (Drury)
Sphinx chersis (Hubner)
Sphinx drupiferarum (J.E. Smith)
Grapes (Vitis species) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) serve as hosts for Eumorpha achemon.
Larvae of other sphinx moth species feed on: serviceberries (Almelanchier species), birches (Betula species), hawthorns (Crataegus species), ashes (Fraxinus species), honeysuckles (Lonicera species), privets (Ligustrum species), cherries, plums (Prunus species), aspens, cottonwoods, and poplars (Populus species), willows (Salix species and cultivars), ashes (Fraxinus species and cultivars), apples and crabapples (Malus species, hybrids, and cultivars),snowberries (Symphocarpus species), lilacs (Syringa species), elms (Ulmus species, hybrids, and cultivars), and viburnums (Viburnum species).
Many of these sphinx moths have larval stages that feed on an assortment of herbaceous plants including: eggplants, nightshades, peppers, potato, tomato, tobacco and other members of Solanaceae, primroses, four o'clocks, and peonies.
Damage and Diagnosis
Larvae feed on foliage of Virginia creeper and grape but damage is late in the season and minor. However the larvae purplish-brown larvae, a "hornless hornworm" often attract attention when they are observed in late summer and early fall.
Life History and Habits
Achemon sphinx winter as pupa, within small earthen cells constructed a few inches below ground in the general vicinity of previously infested plantings. Adults may emerge in June, but are most common during July at which time eggs are laid on host plants. The newly hatched larvae are green with very long horn; however, the horn is lost at the first molt, leaving just an "eyespot" marking. The larvae continue to grow through summer, becoming full grown in late August or September. They then leave the plants, typically wandering several yards away, to find a place where they may dig and pupate. There is one generation a year.
The whitelined sphinx, Hyles lineata (F.), occasionally feeds on grape, as well as a wide range of herbaceous plants, notably primrose. The caterpillars are boldly patterned hornworms that may range from green to black with yellow markings. The adult is the most common "hummingbird moth" found in the western US.
Hummingbird or Sphinx Moths Common to Colorado
|Common Name||Scientific Name||Common Name(s) of Host(s)|
|Elm sphinx||Ceratomia amyntor (Geyer)||elms|
|Great ash sphinx||Sphinx chersis (Hubner)||ashes, lilacs, privets|
|Wildcherry sphinx||Sphinx drupiferarum (J.E. Smith)||plums, cherries, and other Prunus species|
|(no common name)||Paonias myops (J.E. Smith)||cherries, serviceberries|
|Giant poplar sphinx||Pachysphinx modesta (Harris)||poplars, willows|
|Columbia Basin sphinx||Pachysphinx occidentalis (H. Edwards)||poplars, willows|
|Achemon sphinx||Eumorpha achemon (Drury)||grapes, Virginia creeper|
|Common clearwing sphinx||Hemaris thysbe (Fabricius)||honeysuckles, viburnums, hawthorns, snowberry, cherries, plums|
|(no common name)||Hyles gallaii (Rottenburg)||willow weed, woodruff, bedstraw|
|Whitelined sphinx||Hyles lineata (Fabricius)||purselane (Portulaca oleraceae), apples, primroses, four o'clocks, peonies, others|
|Twinspot sphinx||Smerinthus jamaicensis (Drury)||poplars, birches, elms, willows, ashes, apples|
|Tomato hornworm||Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth)||nightshade, potato, tomato, tobacco family plants (members of Solanaceace)|
|Tobacco hornworm||Manduca sexta (Linnaeus)||nightshade, potato, tomato, tobacco family plants (members of Solanaceace)|
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