Amorpha juglandis

Walnut sphinx

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Amorpha
Species: A. juglandis
Binomial name
Amorpha juglandis
(J. E. Smith, 1797)[1]
Synonyms
  • 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

Amorpha juglandis (walnut sphinx) is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is native to North America, where it is distributed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States.

The wingspan is 45–75 mm. The adult moth is nocturnal, active mainly during the early hours of the night.

The caterpillar feeds on alder (Alnus), hickory (Carya), hazelnut (Corylus), beech (Fagus), walnut (Juglans), and hop-hornbeam (Ostrya) species. When attacked by a bird, the caterpillar produces a high-pitched whistle by expelling air from pair of spiracles in its abdomen. This antipredator adaptation may startle the bird, which may then reject the caterpillar.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience - Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  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.

Further reading


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