''Sphinx franckii'', or Franck's sphinx moth 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 ...

in 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 first described by Berthold Neumoegen in 1893. It is known from lowland deciduous woodland in the eastern United States but also suburban areas where lilacs (''

Syringa ''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 ...

'' species) are planted, ranging from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

east to

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. 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 100–128 mm. There is one generation in the north with adults on wing from late June to early July. In the south, there may be a partial second generation with adults on wing from August to September. Adults most frequently nectar from

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 ...

(''

Phlox paniculata ''Phlox paniculata'' is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family (Polemoniaceae). It is native to parts of the eastern and central United States. It is extensively cultivated in temperate regions as an ornamental plant and has become es ...

'' and cultivars). However, males will occasionally gather over moist charcoal to obtain nutrients from the charred wood prior to copulation. Adults fly at dusk and in the early morning hours. The larvae feed on several plants in the olive family. The only native hosts of this moth are ash (''

Fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), common name, commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of Subtropics, subtropic ...

'') and fringe tree (''

Chionanthus virginicus ''Chionanthus virginicus'' (white fringetree) is a tree native to the savannas and lowlands of the southeastern United States, from New Jersey south to Florida, and west to Oklahoma and Texas.USDA Woody Plant Seed Manual''Chionanthus virginicus'' ...

''). However, larvae seem to have a liking for ornamental lilac (''

''), and occasionally will feed on privet (''

Ligustrum A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, native to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many introduced and nat ...

''). Larvae are commonly parasitized by native

braconid wasp The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...

s. The introduced

tachinid fly The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this family ...

poses additional threat to the beautiful caterpillars of this species. Larvae pupate in subterranean chambers a few inches beneath the surface of the ground. The pupa is a shiny, chestnut-brown color.

References

External links

*Struttmann, Jane M
"Franck's sphinx (''Sphinx franckii'')"
''Moths of North America''. Archived April 5, 2005. Sphinx (genus) Moths described in 1893 {{Sphinginae-stub