Eumorpha pandorus

Pandora sphinx
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Eumorpha
Species:	E. pandorus
Binomial name
Eumorpha pandorus (Hübner, 1821)[1]
Synonyms
Daphnis pandorus Hübner, 1821 Philampelus ampelophaga Walker, 1856

The Pandora sphinx moth (Eumorpha pandorus), also called the Pandorus Sphinx Moth, is a North American moth in the Sphingidae family. It is a large, greenish gray moth with darker patches and pink edges and small pink eyespots. The underside is usually pale yellow-green or brown. It has a wingspan of 3¼–4½ inches (8.2–11.5 cm), females being slightly larger than males. Pandora sphinx moths fly during dusk. Some places see only one generation a year, while others see two.

Life cycle

Female adults lay translucent eggs singly on leaves of the host plant, mainly Vitis (grapes), and Parthenocissus (Virginia creeper). Caterpillars are large, green or red with a swollen third thorax segment into which the head and first two thoractic segments can be drawn. The abdomen has a small white spot on the second segment, and big white oval spots the last five spiracles. They also have the characteristic "horn" at the end of the abdomen, until it is replaced by a button in its last instar. Larvae consume copious amounts of foliage, and when they are ready they climb down their host plant and burrow underground, where they pupate. The pupa is dark brown in color, quite slender, and has a long cremaster. There the pupa will remain for either a couple of weeks or a couple of months, depending on the generation. When the pupa is ready, it wiggles to the surface just prior to eclosion. The newly emerged adults then climb on a plant or some other surface, and pump fluid into their wings to extend them. Females emit pheromones at night, and males fly into the wind to pick up and track the pheromone plume.

Additional photos

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  Pandora Sphinx Moth on a window screen, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, USA

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  Eumorpha pandorus, larva (caterpillar), Durham, North Carolina, USA

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  Eumorpha pandorus, larva, detail, Durham, North Carolina, USA

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  Eumorpha pandorus, adult

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  Lawrence, Kansas, USA

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  Hamburg Twp. Library, Hamburg, Michigan, USA

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  Pleasant Lake, New York, USA

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  Winchester, Kentucky, USA

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  Kansas City, Missouri, USA

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  East Peoria, Illinois, USA

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  Dublin, Ohio, USA

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  York, PA, USA

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  Windsor, ON, Canada

References

External links

• Pandorus sphinx moth, with pictures
• BugGuide.net account

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eumorpha pandorus.