''Pheosia rimosa'', the black-rimmed prominent moth, fissured prominent or false-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

Notodontidae Notodontidae is a family of moths with approximately 3,800 known species. The family was described by James Francis Stephens in 1829. Moths of this family are found in all parts of the world, but they are most concentrated in tropical areas, espe ...

. The species was first described by

Alpheus Spring Packard Alpheus Spring Packard Jr. LL.D. (February 19, 1839 – February 14, 1905) was an American entomologist and palaeontologist. He described over 500 new animal species – especially butterflies and moths – and was one of the founders of ''The Am ...

in 1864. It is found from coast to coast in North America, although it is less common in the south-eastern United States. 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 43–62 mm. Adults are dark black-brown and white. The forewings are white with a dark strip along the costa and along the entire lower margin. The hindwings are white with a dark blotch in the anal angle. Adults are on wing from spring to fall. The larvae feed on the leaves of ''

Populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

'' and '' Salix'' species. They resemble young hornworm larvae of the family Sphingidae. The color is variable and can be yellow, lavender, pink, green, brown or nearly black. Full-grown larvae can reach a length of about 45 mm. The species overwinters in the pupal stage.

Subspecies

*''Pheosia rimosa rimosa'' *''Pheosia rimosa taiwanognoma'' Nakamura, 1973 (Taiwan)

Taxonomy

''Pheosia portlandia'' was previously treated as a distinct species, replacing ''P. rimosa'' in Pacific coastal forests. Research has concluded that ''Pheosia portlandia'' is a synonym of ''P. rimosa''.

References

Moths described in 1864 Notodontidae Moths of Japan Moths of North America Taxa named by Alpheus Spring Packard {{Notodontidae-stub