Amorpha juglandis

Amorpha juglandis, or the walnut sphinx is a type of moth. It is a part of the genus Amorpha which only has one species (which makes it Monotypic). It is in the family of Sphingidae and was noted by Jacob Hübner in 1809. It was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797.

Walnut sphinx
Amorpha juglandis MHNT CUT 2010 0 266 Sank City Sank Co Wisconsin male.jpg
Conservation status

Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Tribe: Smerinthini
Genus: Amorpha
J. Hübner, 1809
Species:
A. juglandis
Binomial name
Amorpha juglandis
Synonyms
  • Generic
    • Cressonia Grote & Robinson, 1865
  • Specific
    • Sphinx juglandis J. E. Smith, 1797
    • Cressonia juglandis
    • Laothoe juglandis
    • Sphinx instibilis Martyn, 1797
    • Cressonia hyperbola Slosson, 1890
    • Cressonia robinsonii Butler, 1876
    • Smerinthus pallens Strecker, 1873
    • Cressonia juglandis alpina Clark, 1927
    • Cressonia juglandis manitobae Clark, 1930

It is native to North America. It is found from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States.

Description

The wingspan is 45–75 mm.

Biology

The adult moth is nocturnal.

The caterpillar feeds on alder (Alnus), hickory (Carya), hazelnut (Corylus), beech (Fagus), walnut (Juglans), and hop-hornbeam (Ostrya) species. The caterpillar can make a high-pitched whistles. It comes from spiracles in its abdomen. This will startle the bird which will probably not eat it because of that.[2]

References

  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.[dead link]
  2. Fullard, James H.; Napoleone, Nadia (2001). "Diel flight periodicity and the evolution of auditory defences in the Macrolepidoptera". Animal Behaviour. 62 (2): 349. doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1753. S2CID 53182157.

Further reading

Other websites