Virginia Creeper Sphinx

Fascinating facts about the Virginia Creeper Sphinx

• The Virginia creeper sphinx has a relatively large wingspan of two to three inches, giving it a noticeable presence in flight. Its forewings display a striped pattern that ranges from green to brown and feature a distinct dark dot near the centre, while the hindwings are coloured a vivid orange that contrasts sharply with the forewing tones.
• Darapsa myron can produce five or more generations each year, and the caterpillars develop quickly, reaching full size in as little as three weeks. During this rapid growth they hide on the midribs of their host leaves and feed at night, consuming foliage such as Virginia creeper and grape vines.
• A single female Virginia creeper sphinx can lay up to 150 tiny eggs, which are initially green and turn yellow after about 48 hours, signalling that they are fertile. This colour change provides a visual cue that the eggs are viable and ready for development. After this brief period the eggs undergo an incubation of roughly six days before the larvae emerge, beginning the next stage of the moth's life cycle.
• Adults of the Virginia creeper sphinx emerge in the warm mid-afternoon, but the females do not begin their characteristic bob call until after dusk. The moths are on the wing from early May through early September, with peak numbers in June and July in places such as Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. In regions where they are common they are strongly attracted to both lights and sugar baits, and their greatest activity occurs between sunset and midnight.
• The newly hatched caterpillars are called hornworms because each bears a conspicuous blue horn on its rear, and at this stage they are slender and yellow. As they grow they may turn green, pink or brown and develop seven pairs of diagonal stripes that fuse into a single dorsal black line.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Virginia Creeper Sphinx

In the warm, golden light of a summer evening, the Virginia Creeper Sphinx moth unfurls its delicate wings, a masterwork of intricate patterns and soft, muted hues, as it takes to the air with a gentle, fluttering motion. With a quiet determination, it navigates the dense, verdant foliage of its native habitats, its long, extendable proboscis uncoiling like a ghostly thread as it seeks out the sweet, heady nectar of blooming flowers. As it moves through the world, this enchanting creature leaves a trail of subtle, whispered beauty, its very presence a reminder of the magic that lies just beyond the edge of our everyday perception.

More insects and spiders to discover

Browse Feravox