''Amphion floridensis'', the Nessus sphinx, is a day-flying

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, bu ...

. The species was named by

Benjamin Preston Clark Benjamin Preston Clark (October 8, 1860, in West Roxbury – January 11, 1939, in Philadelphia), known to friends as "Preston", was an American entomologist who specialized in Lepidoptera, especially Sphingidae. He also operated a mercantile bu ...

in 1920. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphion'' erected by

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

in 1819. It lives throughout the eastern United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and occasionally south into

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, 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.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 37–55 mm. Amphion floridensis MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 Cherry Point Havelock, North Carolina female dorsal.jpg, Female Amphion floridensis MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 Cherry Point Havelock, North Carolina female ventral.jpg, Female underside Amphion floridensis MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 Cherry Point Havelock, North Carolina male dorsal.jpg, Male Amphion floridensis MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 Cherry Point Havelock, North Carolina male ventral.jpg, Male underside

Biology

Adults are on wing from April to July in one generation in the north and in two generations in the south. The adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including ''

Syringa vulgaris ''Syringa vulgaris'', the lilac or common lilac, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .Med-Check ...

'', ''

Geranium robertianum ''Geranium robertianum'', commonly known as herb-Robert, or (in North America) Roberts geranium, is a common species of cranesbill native to Europe and parts of Asia, and North Africa. The plant has many vernacular names, including red robin, de ...

'', ''

Kolkwitzia amabilis ''Linnaea amabilis'', also known under the synonym ''Kolkwitzia amabilis'' and the English name beauty bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is a deciduous shrub grown as an ornamental plant. In China, where it ...

'', '' Philadelphus coronarius'', and ''

Phlox ''Phlox'' (; Greek φλόξ "flame"; plural "phlox" or "phloxes", Greek φλόγες ''phlóges'') is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America (one in Siberia) in di ...

'' species. The larvae feed on ''

Vitis ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

'', ''

Ampelopsis ''Ampelopsis'', commonly known as peppervine or porcelainberry, is a genus of climbing shrubs, in the grape family Vitaceae. The name is derived from the grc, ἅμπελος (''ampelos''), which means "vine". The genus was named in 1803. It is ...

'', and ''

Capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to Americas, the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come f ...

'' species.

Taxonomy

It was first described as ''Sphinx nessus'' by

Pieter Cramer Pieter Cramer (21 May 1721 (baptized) – 28 September 1776), was a wealthy Dutch merchant in linen and Spanish wool, remembered as an entomologist. Cramer was the director of the Zealand Society, a scientific society located in Flushing, and a mem ...

in 1777. This name was invalid, because

Dru Drury Dru Drury (4 February 1724 – 15 December 1803) was a British collector of natural history specimens and an entomologist. He had specimens collected from across the world through a network of ship's officers and collectors including Henry Sme ...

had already used it for another species (''

Theretra nessus ''Theretra nessus'', the yam hawk moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Dru Drury in 1773. Distribution It is found in Sri Lanka, India (including the Andaman and Nicobar islands), Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, so ...

'') in 1773. A replacement name was published in

in 1920.

Images

File:AmphionFloridensisFlying2010.jpg, Flying on a lilac File:AmphionFloridensisFlyingSide2010.jpg, Side view

References

Macroglossini Moths described in 1920 Moths of North America Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Macroglossini-stub