Better Half and I drove out to
Ferda's Garden Center this afternoon in search of more
heliotrope. This has become our favorite gardening destination. We enjoyed visiting with Bob Ferda and he sold us the very last heliotrope on site - a beautifully arranged basket. (I swear, I will cover my entire yard in concrete and throw away my gardening gloves if FGC ever closes down.)
On our way out, we spotted a gorgeous sphinx moth clinging to a window screen. Bob didn't mind us taking a few snapshots of the little fellow. The Sphingidae family interests me and I've
blogged one sighting before. Without further ado...
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| Pandorus Sphinx Moth, © 2012 T. Mininni-Totin. |
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PANDORUS SPHINX MOTH
CATEGORY: Butterfly or Moth
OTHER NAMES: Pandora Sphinx Moth
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Eumorpha pandorus
IUCN RED LIST: 3.1
NCGR: G5
ADULT SIZE (Length, not including legs):
82mm to 115mm
(3.23in to 4.53in; males smaller than females
IDENTIFYING COLORS: tan; brown, white, pink, green/olive green; yellow; orange
TAXONOMY:
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLYM: Arthropoda
CLASS: Insecta
ORDER: Lepidoptera
SUPERFAMILY: Spingoidea (Dyar, 1902)
FAMILY: Sphingidae (Latreille, 1802)
SUBFAMILY: Macroglossinae (Harris, 1839)
TRIBE: Philampelini (Burmeister)
GENUS: Eumorpha (Hubner, 1807)
SPECIES: pandorus (Hubner, 1821)
COLORATION:
The moth's upperside is light brown with shades of olive
green to green. The forewing has pink streaks along vein ends and near the
inner margin, and a dark squarish mark at the middle of the inner margin. The
area from the base to the squarish mark is dark green. The underside usually is
yellow-green, but sometimes is pale brown.
1 Additional coloration may include orange in place of pink, or deep chocolate/black.
RANGE:
UNITED
STATES: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West
Virginia, Wisconsin.
CANADA: Nova Scotia, Ontario. They are reportedly rare in Quebec.
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| Photograph of Virginia Creeper by Aydin Örstan, 2009, Snail's Tails | |
BEHAVIOR:
Adults remain relatively quiet during the day, taking flight at dawn and dusk. They tend to gather close to vineyards, forested areas or river edges where their caterpillar's food plants are plentiful. Courtship is initiated by the female via the release of pheromones; males fly into the wind to locate the female. Eggs are laid one at a time. Caterpillars are dedicated leaf-eaters, hanging out on the undersides of leaves.
2 Fully-grown caterpillars pupate in shallow chambers in the soil.
CATERPILLAR HOSTS:
Grape (Vitis), Peppervine (Ampelopsis arborea), and Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
ADULT FOOD:
Nectar from flowers including petunia (Petunia hybrida), bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis), and white campion (Lychnis alba)
3
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| Pandorus Sphinx Moth, © 2012 T. Mininni-Totin. |
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The Dungeon, and all things Chaotic!
“Lori!” Mama’s voice carried across the yard and into the field. The house loomed behind Mama and Dad’s truck sat in the drive. Suddenly the ground didn’t matter. The humidity and the water couldn’t touch her. She really could fly, just because Mama was so close, and nothing in the whole world would be able to stop her. She reached the fence separating the yard from field, and then was across the yard, and before she could draw a breath, she felt Mama’s warm hug.
We found our way down winding highways and stumbled upon
Ferda’s Garden Center. It’s a shame that it took us so many years to find it;
they are in the process of selling the business. I fell in love with the center immediately. 
