Smerinthus jamaicensis

Twin-spotted sphinx
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Smerinthus
Species:	S. jamaicensis
Binomial name
	Smerinthus jamaicensis; (Drury, 1773)[1]
Synonyms
	Sphinx jamaicensis Drury, 1773 ; Smerinthus geminatus Say, 1824 ; Calasymbolus jamaicensis tripartitus (Grote, 1886) ; Smerinthus jamaicensis clarkii Franck, 1913 ; Smerinthus jamaicensis flavitincta (Nixon, 1912) ; Smerinthus jamaicensis gamma Cockerell, 1925 ;

Smerinthus jamaicensis, the twin-spotted sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.

Distribution

It is widely distributed across North America. It has been taken as far north as the Yukon.[2]

Description

It has a wingspan of 1 ³⁄₄–3 ¹⁄₄ inches (4.5–8.3 cm), with the outer margins of the forewings unevenly scalloped, but with the coastal margin of the hindwings being almost straight. Males have gray with black and white markings on their forewings, while females are yellowish brown with dark brown and white markings.

Both sexes have red hindwings with a pale yellow border. Sometimes a blue patch may appear as a single eyespot or it may be divided by black bands, creating two or three eyespots. Adult moths are nocturnal, but seem to prefer the earlier part hours of the night.

Smerinthus jamaicensis ♂
Smerinthus jamaicensis ♂ △
Smerinthus jamaicensis ♀ △

Biology

The larvae feed on apple (Malus sylvestris), Prunus species (such as plums and peach), ash (Fraxinus), elm (Ulmus), poplar (Populus), birch (Betula), and willow (Salix).

References

"CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
"Smerinthus jamaicensis (Drury, 1773)". Sphingidae of the Americas. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2011-11-01.

Fullard, James H.; Napoleone, Nadia (2001). "Diel flight periodicity and the evolution of auditory defences in the Macrolepidoptera" (PDF). Animal Behaviour. 62 (2): 349–368. doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1753.

External links

Lotts, Kelly & Naberhaus, Thomas (2017). "Twin-spotted sphinx Smerinthus jamaicensis (Drury, 1773)". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Retrieved December 20, 2018.

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[1] "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.

[2] "Smerinthus jamaicensis (Drury, 1773)". Sphingidae of the Americas. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2011-11-01.