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Ceratomia catalpae, the catalpa sphinx, is a hawk moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1875. Other common names are the Catawba worm, or Catalpa sphinx.
The Sphingidae are a family of moths commonly called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as hornworms. It includes about 1,450 species . [ 1 ] It is best represented in the tropics , but species are found in every region. [ 2 ]
Adult moths fly at dusk. [2] Like other Sphingidae, adult pandora sphinx moths have a long proboscis that is used to feed on nectar. [4] Females lay translucent eggs singly [10] on leaves of the host plant, mainly Vitis spp. (grapes), Ampelopsis spp. (peppervine) and Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper). [11]
The tree is the sole source of food for the catalpa sphinx moth (Ceratomia catalpae), the leaves being eaten by the caterpillars. When caterpillars are numerous, infested trees may be completely defoliated. Defoliated catalpas produce new leaves readily, but with multiple generations occurring, new foliage may be consumed by subsequent broods.
The tree is often sought out by fishing enthusiasts, not for the plant itself, but for a common parasite that is used as bait. The catalpa moth caterpillar, Ceratomia catalpae, is widely regarded as one of the best live baits, and the tree may be planted strictly for this purpose, and has earned the tree common names of worm tree, or bait tree.
Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawkmoth, is a brown and gray hawk moth of the family Sphingidae.The caterpillar, often referred to as the tomato hornworm, can be a major pest in gardens; they get their name from a dark projection on their posterior end and their use of tomatoes as host plants.
Sightings of the white-lined sphinx moth — Hyles lineata in scientific terms — have been reported "all over" Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco.
Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Sphinx describes a close encounter with a death's-head sphinx moth, describing it as "the genus Sphinx, of the family Crepuscularia of the order Lepidoptera." [ 9 ] These moths have often been featured in art, such as by German artist Sulamith Wülfing and English artist William Holman Hunt in his 1851 painting ...