Banded Sphinx?

Figure 1: Hanging out in the grasses on a Ludwigia

Working out in the field as usual I notice this Sphinx caterpillar in the grasses. I snap a few photos to find out what kind of caterpillar I saw that day. Come to find out it was a Banded Sphinx Moth (Eumorpha fasciatus), sad that I never get to see a butterfly caterpillar but still happy because the are pollinators too. Then a few weeks went by I spot another one on a swamp buggy, but this time the color was very different. Thinking to myself I wondered if there were the same species.



The Banded Sphinx can are mostly green (Figure 1), but can come in a base color variation of green yellow or pinkish-red (Figure 2). Caterpillars usually go through five instars of various colors and patterns. There fifth instar is a characteristic of the 1st form which is usually green or 2nd form, a color other than green. Mature larvae leave there host plant (plants in the Onagraceae family) to tuck away in an underground cavity in fall. Caterpillars pupate during winter, then crawl out of their burrows in the spring.

Figure 2: Feeding on a Ludwigia

The sphinx's wingspan can range between 8.7-9.6 cm after emerging. Their size and rapid wing beats allow them to hover and feed like hummingbirds, giving them the nickname 'hummingbird moths'. Caterpillars this shower are just as cool to spot as are butterflies, plus they can't fly away yet making pictures easier to take. I will never underestimate a moths beauty again.

-Ayanna💛