Pachysphinx modesta

Pachysphinx modesta, the modest sphinx or poplar sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1839.

Modest sphinx
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Sphingidae
Genus:
Pachysphinx
Species:
P. modesta
Binomial name
Pachysphinx modesta
(Harris, 1839)[1]
Synonyms
  • Smerinthus modesta Harris, 1839
  • Smerinthus populicola Boisduval, 1875
  • Smerinthus princeps Walker, 1856
  • Smerinthus cablei von Reizenstein, 1881
  • Pachysphinx modesta borealis Clark, 1929
  • Male, dorsal view
  • Male, ventral view
  • Female, dorsal view
  • Female, ventral view
  • Larva

Distribution

It ranges from the southern United States up and throughout Canada.[2]

Biology

Adults are on wing from mid-June to mid-July in Canada. In the northern part of the range, there is one generation with adults on wing from may to July. Farther south, there might be two generations per year.

The larvae feed on poplar, willow and cottonwood species.

References
  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  2. "Pachysphinx modesta". Sphingidae of the Americas. Retrieved December 18, 2018.


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