Sphinx kalmiae, the laurel sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae.
| Laurel sphinx | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Sphingidae |
| Genus: | Sphinx |
| Species: | S. kalmiae
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| Binomial name | |
| Sphinx kalmiae J. E. Smith, 1797[1]
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Distribution edit
It is found in the temperate parts of the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains, in the north it occurs west of the Rocky Mountains.
Description edit
The wingspan is 75–103 mm.
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Male dorsal -
Male ventral -
Female dorsal -
Female ventral
Biology edit
In Canada, there is one generation per year with adults on wing in June and July. More to the south, there are two generations per year with adults on wing from late May to June and again from July to August. There may be as many as six generations in Louisiana.
The larvae feed on Chionanthus, Kalmia, Syringa and Fraxinus species.
Taxonomy edit
English entomologist James Edward Smith named this moth after Kalmia, the plant on which its caterpillar was first observed. [2]
References edit
- ^ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ J.E. Smith & John Abbot. The natural history of the rarer lepidopterous insects of Georgia ... 797. page 73. [1]
External links edit
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