Page 469 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Sphingidae
DISTRIBUTION South Asia, Southeast Asia to northeast China, Korea, and Japan
HABITAT Forest edges, parks, and gardens
HOST PLANTS Various shrubs and small trees, including Ligustrum spp.,
Syringa spp., and Paulownia spp.
NOTE Caterpillar that has two distinct color forms when mature
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not threatened

ADULT WINGSPAN
3½–4¾ in (90–122 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2¾–4¼ in (70–110 mm)
PSILOGRAMMA INCRETA
PLAIN GRAY HAWKMOTH 467

(WALKER, 1865)

The Plain Gray Hawkmoth lays its eggs singly on the leaves
of the host plant. Initially pale green, the eggs become yellow
brown as hatching approaches. The emerging caterpillars are
yellow with a black horn, becoming greener in color as they
develop. They feed on the leaves of their host plants and, at rest,
can be found on the underside of large leaves on lower branches.
The caterpillars move to the ground, where they burrow
into the soil and pupate.

The reddish-brown pupae may overwinter, with adults The Plain Gray Hawkmoth caterpillar
emerging the following spring. In the northern part of the is green, mottled with brown or sometimes
gray green, and has a medium-length horn.

species’ range, there are two generations; the adults y in late There are a series of seven oblique, white
spring to early summer and again in late summer. Farther south stripes laterally, with a di use white patch
beneath each one. The spiracles are red.
there are as many as ve generations. The Plain Gray Hawkmoth

is primarily an Asian species but has been introduced in Hawaii,
and there is a subspecies in Australia.

Actual size