''Hyles lineata'', also known as the white-lined sphinx, is a
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 ...
. They are sometimes known as the
hummingbird moth because of their bird-like size (2-3 inch wingspan) and flight patterns.
As caterpillars, they have a wide range of color phenotypes but show consistent adult coloration.
With a wide geographic range throughout Central and North America, ''H. lineata'' is known to feed on many different host plants as caterpillars and pollinate a variety of flowers as adults.
Larvae are powerful eaters and are known to form massive groupings capable of damaging crops and gardens.
As adults, they use both visual and olfactory perception to locate plants from which they collect nectar.
Description
Caterpillar
Larvae show wide variation in color. The larvae are black with orange spots arranged in lines down the whole body. Their head's prothoracic shield, and the anal plate, are one color, either green or orange with small black dots.
[David L. Wagner (2005). ''Caterpillars of Eastern North America''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. ] A tail-like spine protruding from the back of the body is a typical for sphingid moth caterpillars, known as “hornworms”.
This horn, which may sometimes be yellow and have a black tip, is not a stinger, and the caterpillars are not harmful to humans.
The larvae can also sometimes be lime green and black.
File:Hyles lineata caterpillar.jpg, Dark green larva
File:Hyles lineata larva colorado.jpg, Light green larva in Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
File:Hyles lineata larvae.jpg, Yellow larvae in Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
Adult
The forewing is dark brown with a tan stripe which extends from the base to the apex. There are also white lines that cover the veins. The black hindwing has a broad pink median band. It has a wingspan of 2 to 3 inches. This moth is large and has a stout furry body. The dorsal hind region is crossed by six distinct white stripes and similar striping patterns on the wings. The hindwings are black with a thick, red-pink stripe in the middle.
Hyles lineata MHNT CUT 2010 0 134 Female North America dorsal.jpg, Female dorsal
Hyles lineata MHNT CUT 2010 0 134 Female North America ventral.jpg, Female ventral
Geographic range
''Hyles lineata'' is one of the most abundant
hawk moths in North America and has a very wide geographic range.
This range extends from Central America to southern Canada through Mexico and most of the United States.
They can also be found occasionally in the West Indies.
Populations have also been seen in Eurasia and Africa.
The abundance of ''Hyles lineata'' populations in specific locations varies significantly from year to year, and has been thought to influence selection on flower phenotypes, although studies throughout the years show mixed results.
Habitat
With such a wide geographic range, ''H. lineata'' are known to live in a variety of habitats, including deserts, gardens and suburbs.
They have also been seen in abundance in the mountains of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, but their presence varies from year to year in many places.
Food resources
Caterpillars
*
Willow weed (''Epilobium'')
*
Four o'clock (''Mirabilis'')
*
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
(''Malus'')
*
Evening primrose
''Oenothera'' is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. They are not closely related to ...
(''Oenothera'')
*
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
(''Ulmus'')
*
Grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
(''Vitis'')
*
Tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
(''Lycopersicon'')
*
Purslane Purslane is a common name for several mostly unrelated plants with edible leaves and may refer to:
* Portulacaceae, a family of succulent flowering plants, and especially:
** ''Portulaca oleracea'', a species of ''Portulaca'' eaten as a leaf vegeta ...
(''Portulaca'')
* ''
Fuchsia
''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republi ...
''
*
Clarkia elegans
''Clarkia unguiculata'' is a species of wildflower known by the common name elegant clarkia or mountain garland. This plant is endemic to California, where it is found in many woodland habitats. Specifically it is common on the forest floor of man ...
(''Farewell to Spring'')
Adults
*
Columbines
* Larkspurs
*
Four o'clock (''Mirabilis'')
*
Petunia
''Petunia'' is genus of 20 species of flowering plants of South American origin. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word ''petun'', meaning "tobacco," from a Tupi–Guarani language. A tende ...
*
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both conti ...
*
Moonvine
*
Bouncing bet
*
Lilac
''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
*
Clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
s
*
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...
s
*
Jimson weed
The adults will feed on different flowers depending on its behavior and on whether they are diurnal or nocturnal. If the adults are nocturnal, they will choose flowers that are white or pale colored, which are easier to identify in contrast to the dark foliage surrounding the flower. If they're diurnal, they will choose flowers that are more brightly colored.
Pollination
''H. lineata'' are common pollinators and are known to collect nectar from flowers. As caterpillars they feed on a huge diversity of host plants and as adults they prefer nectar over flowers.
A study from the 1970s focused on ''H. lineata'' nectar feeding patterns in Emerald Lake, Colorado, specifically on ''
Aquilegia coerulea
''Aquilegia coerulea'', the Colorado blue columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the Rocky Mountains, USA. ''Aquilegia coerulea'' is the List of U.S. state flowers, state flower of Colorado.
...
'' flowers. Of the ''H. lineata'' individuals that had visited ''A. coerulea'' flowers, two groups of moths were identified, one with patches of pollen near their eyes and ones with no detectable pollen on their bodies. Between the two groups, tongue length was significantly different, with longer-tongued individuals having no pollen and shorter-tongued individuals having pollen. These results suggest that within ''H. lineata'', some individuals are effective pollinators while some are not pollinating at all, with shorter-tongued individuals carrying out the most effective pollination.
Other studies have investigated its role as pollinators in flower morphology. Individuals visiting ''
Aquilegia chrysantha'' flowers in Pima County, AZ, had proboscis lengths very similar to the length of the nectar spur of the flower, suggesting coevolution.
Hawk moths, including ''H. lineata'', are known as long-tongued nectar foragers, although nearly 20% of all hawk moth species have very short tongues compared to ''H. lineata''. A 1997 study found correlations between tongue length and latitude distribution: mean tongue length declines from around 40 mm to as short as 15 mm as northern latitude increase from 0 to 50 degrees. The author speculates that tongues have lengthened in hawk moths of extratropical regions where it is more difficult and energetically costly to find larval food plants that are often inconspicuous, thus they need to take up more nectar at once to fuel their longer flights. Conversely, in more norther regions, short tongues are sufficient because finding larval food plants is an easier task and they do not need to take up as much nectar to fuel their flights.
One 2009 study showed that whiter flowers are associated with an annual presence of hawk moths, including ''H. lineata.'' Their data also showed that the annual presence of ''H. lineata'' populations selects for whiter flowers. Other hawk moth species with similar range overlap, specifically ''
Sphinx vashti'', show a correlation of annual presence with longer spurs on flowers. Thus hawk moths in general have been demonstrated to impact selection on flower morphology.
Parental care
Adult ''H. lineata'' do not show any parental care. Females lay eggs and do not stay to protect them.
Oviposition
In the spring, adult females lay eggs on various types of plants, on which the resulting larvae eventually feeds. Each individual female can produce hundreds of eggs in a breeding season.
Social behavior
Adults typically do not survive cold northern winters, but larvae overwinter and moths begin to appear in mid-May. Depending on abundance, a second flight may occur in late August or early September. Larvae are known to gather and form giant hordes in search of host plants, and they can eat entire plants, cover entire roadways and form huge slick masses as they go.
Life history
The foraging patterns of ''H. lineata'' varies according to altitude, temperature and other factors, all of which are highly variable over its vast geographic distribution.
''Hyles lineata'' prefer flying at night but also sometimes fly during the day. They are most commonly seen at dusk and dawn. Larvae overwinter and can emerge between February and November, at which point they begin to feed on a variety of host plants. Caterpillars are known to be ardent eaters. When preparing to transition into the pupal stage, caterpillars dig shallow burrows in the ground where they then stay for 2 to 3 weeks, at which point they emerge as adults. As they get closer to pupating, they will wiggle up closer to the surface which makes it easier to emerge.
Typically there are two generations per year, but warmer climate see more generations. Adults are mostly nocturnal.
They are known to form massive populations which build up and force colonization of more northern regions. This could explain its wide northern range.
Physiology
As prevalent pollinators, hawk moths rely on both olfactory and visual perception to locate and recognize flowers.
Flight
As stated above, ''H. lineata'' are commonly referred to as the hummingbird moth because their flight patterns resemble those of the hummingbird. This entails flapping its wings rapidly to allow it to hover over the flowers as it feeds on the nectar. Hawk moths, when feeding, tend to hover in front of flowers and control their hovering by visual cues from the flowers.
Vision
Though hawk moths can be both diurnal or nocturnal (or both), they all have three spectral receptors that are sensitive to blue light, green light and ultraviolet. Though it was originally assumed that hawk moths relied primarily on olfactory cues to locate flowers, due to their prevalence at particularly odorous plants, studies have shown that hawk moths actually have great vision and are very sensitive to light.
Olfaction
Though vision is a key component of ''H. lineata'' physiology, they do also have strong olfactory capabilities. They have been shown to be very sensitive to odors coming from flowers, and they have a strong ability to learn flower odors quickly.
Interactions with humans
Food source
The caterpillars have been (and in some places still are) gathered and eaten eaten by Native Americans (e.g.,). After collection, they would be skewered and roasted for a feast, and any leftovers were stored whole or ground up after being dried.
The nutritional value of the larvae has been analyzed, and found to be significant; they contain almost as much fat as hamburger meat, but have almost one-third less saturated fat, and more energy (in calories), protein, carbohydrate, riboflavin, and niacin than hamburger meat.
[M. Tarre (2010) Fit to Be Eaten: A Brief Introduction to Entomophagy. ''Sonorensis'' 30(1):11-17.]
Pest of crop plants
Caterpillars often form massive groups in search for food. Outbreaks have been reported in Utah that have damaged grapes, tomatoes and garden crops.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyles Lineata
Lineata
Cosmopolitan moths
Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Moths described in 1775
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius