Page 474 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Sphingidae
DISTRIBUTION Eastern states of Canada and United States
HABITAT Woodlands, parks, and gardens
HOST PLANTS Various, including laurel (Kalmia spp.), lilac (Syringa spp.),
ash (Fraxinus spp.), and Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
NOTE Bright green caterpillar that has distinct lateral, oblique lines
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not threatened

ADULT WINGSPAN
3–4⅛ in (75–105 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2 in (65 mm)
SPHINX KALMIAE
LAUREL SPHINX
472
J. E. SMITH, 1797

The female Laurel Sphinx moth lays her smooth, oval, green-
white eggs on leaves of the host plants. The emerging young
caterpillars are pale white with a black horn, becoming greener
with age. They feed on the underside of leaves, where they
are well camouflaged. However, they are vulnerable to
attack from parasitoids. The mature caterpillars crawl to the
ground, where they burrow into loose soil to pupate. They can
overwinter as pupae.

The adult moths are on the wing in summer. There is a single
brood in the northern parts of the range, but there may be two
or more broods in the south. The genus Sphinx is named for the
sphinx of mythology—probably for the sphinxlike pose that

caterpillars of this genus take when they raise their head o the
ground and tuck it into their thorax. The species name, kalmiae,
may be derived from the laurel host plant but more probably
from the Swedish botanist Pehr Kalm (1716–79).

Actual size
The Laurel Sphinx caterpillar is yellow green to
blue green, with seven oblique, lateral, white lines
edged with black above and yellow below. The
spiracles are orange. The prolegs are green with
a yellow band above the black bases. The horn is
blue with tiny, black spines.