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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Sphingidae 890121 – 7810.1   Sphinx poecila Stephens, 1828              Northern Apple Sphinx

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Distribution: Ranges from Newfoundland into the prairie provinces of Canada, and from Maine south into Pennsylvania, thence westward through Michigan, northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Overlaps in a portion of the northeast with Sphinx gordius. Seasonality and Size: One brood from May into September. Wingspan 68 - 95 mm. Larva and Host Plants: The larva has been found on a wide variety of food plants including larch, apple, blueberries, huckleberries, white spruce, sweetfern, Carolina rose, and alder. See previous page regarding larva. Description/ Field Marks: This is a variable species and, where their ranges overlap, is easily confused in photographs with Spinx gordius (Apple Sphinx). In well-marked specimens the fringes of the wings offer good clues to identification. In S. gordius the forewing fringes are mostly black with some white, and hindwing fringes are mostly white with some black patches. In S. poecila the forewing fringes are checkered black and white, while the hindwing fringes are almost totally white. See pinned specimens below. Synonymy: poecila Stephens, 1828 (Sphinx) - MONA 1983: [NEW in Pohl & Nanz (eds.) (2023)] coxeyi Cadbury, 1931 (Sphinx) borealis Clark, 1920 (Sphinx)

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) Covell Field Guide p.35; Pl. 5 (merged in S. gordius without comment). Species Page at Bill Oehlke's moth website - Sphinx poecila Species Page at Block Island Moths Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum Species Page at Mass Moths Species Page at Pacific Northwest Moths Species Page at iNaturalist Tuttle, J. P., 2007. Hawk Moths of North America: p. 87; pl. 6.3, 6. Wagner, D. L., (2005). Caterpillars of Eastern North America, p. 258 (merged in S. gordius).

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