Eumorpha achemon

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Achemon sphinx
Eumorpha achemon 1.jpg
Status TNC G4.svg
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Eumorpha
Species:
E. achemon
Binomial name
Eumorpha achemon
(Drury, 1773) [1]
Synonyms
  • Sphinx achemonDrury, 1773
  • Sphinx crantorCramer, 1777
  • Pholus achemon trigonGehlen, 1926

Eumorpha achemon, the Achemon sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.

Contents

Distribution

It is native to North America, where it is known from most of the United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. [2] It is rare or absent in the Pacific Northwest, Great Basin, and Southeastern United States except Florida. [3]

Description

The wingspan is 87–97 mm. It can be distinguished from all other Eumorpha species by the hindwing upperside being almost uniformly pale pink from the base to the diffuse, dark brown submarginal band.

Larvae are of three forms: light green, reddish orange, and tan to brown.

Biology

Adults are on wing from June to August in one generation in the northern part of the range. There are two generations with adults on wing from May to August in the south. Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Lonicera japonica , Petunia × atkinsiana, Philadelphus coronarius , and Phlox species. It is one of five [4] main pollinators of the rare orchid Platanthera praeclara . [3]

They are known to feed on Parthenocissus quinquefolia and Ampelopsis species. They are often found on wild and cultivated Vitaceae, including grapes, and they can sometimes be found in vineyards feeding on the leaves. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Eumorpha pandorus</i> Species of moth

Eumorpha pandorus, the Pandora sphinx moth or Pandorus sphinx moth, is a North American moth in the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1821.

<i>Cocytius antaeus</i> Species of moth

Cocytius antaeus, the giant sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.

<i>Sphinx chersis</i> Species of moth

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<i>Lintneria eremitus</i> Species of moth

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<i>Eumorpha</i> Genus of moths

Eumorpha is a genus of moths in the family Sphingidae. The genus is mostly found in North and South America.

<i>Smerinthus jamaicensis</i> Species of moth

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

<i>Sphecodina abbottii</i> Species of moth

Sphecodina abbottii, or Abbott's sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by William John Swainson in 1821.

<i>Pachylia ficus</i> Species of moth

Pachylia ficus, known as the fig sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It lives from the northern tip of South America in Uruguay through Central America to the southern tip of the United States straying into Arizona and Texas.

<i>Eumorpha anchemolus</i> Species of moth

Eumorpha anchemolus, the anchemola sphinx moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1780.

<i>Eumorpha intermedia</i> Species of moth

Eumorpha intermedia, the intermediate sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Benjamin Preston Clark in 1917. It lives in the US states of North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and southern Texas.

<i>Eumorpha phorbas</i> Species of moth

Eumorpha phorbas is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

<i>Eumorpha typhon</i> Species of moth

Eumorpha typhon, the Typhon sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug in 1836.

<i>Eumorpha vitis</i> Species of moth

Eumorpha vitis, known as the vine sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

<i>Hemaris thysbe</i> Species of moth

Hemaris thysbe, the hummingbird clearwing, is a moth of the family Sphingidae (hawkmoths). Coloration varies between individuals, but typically the moth is olive green and burgundy on its back, and white or yellow and burgundy on the underside. Its wings are transparent with a reddish-brown border. It has light-colored legs, which combined with the lack of striping on the underside is diagnostic. Beating its wings rapidly, H. thysbe hovers to collect nectar from a variety of flowers. The combination of its appearance and its behavior commonly leads to it being confused with a hummingbird or bumblebee.

<i>Theretra clotho</i> Species of moth

Theretra clotho, the common hunter hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Myanmar, east through China to Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, and then south-east through South East Asia as far as the Lesser Sunda Islands and Timor in Indonesia. They can disperse long distances and may be found up to northern China. The habitat consists of open forests, forest edges, orchards, plantations, wooded scrubs, suburban gardens and city parks.

<i>Amphion floridensis</i> Species of moth

Amphion floridensis, the Nessus sphinx, is a day-flying moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was described by Pieter Cramer in 1777, and renamed in 1920. It is the only member of the genus Amphion erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. It lives throughout the eastern United States and Canada and occasionally south into Mexico, and is one of the more commonly encountered day-flying moths in the region, easily recognized by the two bright-yellow bands across the abdomen.

<i>Darapsa myron</i> Species of moth

Darapsa myron, the Virginia creeper sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae found in central and eastern North America.

<i>Aellopos tantalus</i> Species of moth

Aellopos tantalus, known as the Tantalus sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in Florida, the Antilles, from Mexico to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Suriname, and in the Amazon basin.

<i>Paonias astylus</i> Species of moth

Paonias astylus, the huckleberry sphinx, is a moth in the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.

<i>Eumorpha fasciatus</i> Species of moth

Eumorpha fasciatus, the banded sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Johann Heinrich Sulzer in 1776.

References

  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2011-10-26.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. "Eumorpha achemon". Sphingidae of the Americas. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  3. 1 2 3 Eumorpha achemon. [ permanent dead link ] NatureServe. 2012.
  4. Fox, Kristina; Vitt, Pati; Anderson, Kirk; Fauske, Gerald; Travers, Steven; Vik, Dean; Harris, Marion O. (2013-11-01). "Pollination of a threatened orchid by an introduced hawk moth species in the tallgrass prairie of North America". Biological Conservation. 167: 316–324. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2013.08.026. ISSN   0006-3207.