''Ceratomia hageni'', the Osage orange sphinx or Hagen's sphinx, is a

hawk moth 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, but ...

(family Sphingidae). The species was first described by

Augustus Radcliffe Grote Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who described over 1,000 species of butterflies and moths.Osborn, H. 1937. Fragments of Entomological History. Columbus, OH: Published by the autho ...

in 1874.

Distribution

''Ceratomia hageni'' is a native of midwest North America and can be found from Michigan to Georgia, Nebraska to Texas, and most places in between, with regards to its only known host plant.

Biology

From

oviposition The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

of the eggs to

pupation A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

, approximately four weeks will pass. Where multiple broods occur, pupae will eclose in two weeks, or when conditions are suitable in cool climates. An adult ''C. hageni'' has many colors, viewable when looked over thoroughly. The forewing is grayish-green and has many, wavy lines, similar to other specimens of the ''Ceratomia'' genera. The hindwing is a browner gray with a lighter gray towards the outer margins

Food plants

''C. hageni'' is known to feed on only one food; *''

Maclura pomifera ''Maclura pomifera'', commonly known as the Osage orange ( ), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It typically grows about tall. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, b ...

'' (Osage orange)

Description

Egg

The eggs are translucent, milky white and green, oval and about 0.5 mm in diameter. They are laid in masses on the undersurface of leaves, while smaller masses are deposited onto branches on the

Osage orange ''Maclura pomifera'', commonly known as the Osage orange ( ), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It typically grows about tall. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, b ...

tree. Eggs incubate and hatch five to seven days after

Larva

Pupa

As with most other

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 ...

, ''Ceratomia hageni'' will burrow into the ground after its fifth and final

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

in order to pupate. The larvae will go into a "wandering" stage where it leaves the Osage orange tree and climbs to the ground to find a place to bury itself so that it may pupate. The larvae will then shed its fifth instar skin to reveal its pupal skin, which will be soft and almost translucent at first, but will then harden to a light brown for protection from the elements.

Imago

Ceratomia hageni MHNT CUT 2010 0 406, Bovina, Warren Co. Miss, male dorsal.jpg, ''Ceratomia hageni'' ♂ Ceratomia hageni MHNT CUT 2010 0 406, Bovina, Warren Co. Miss, male ventral.jpg, ''Ceratomia hageni'' ♂ △

References

External links

Hagen's sphinx
Moths of North America Guide

Sphingidae of the Americas Ceratomia Moths described in 1875 {{Sphinginae-stub