Dolba

Dolba is a monotypic moth genus in the family Sphingidae erected by Francis Walker in 1856. Its only species, Dolba hyloeus, the pawpaw sphinx, was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.

Pawpaw sphinx
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Tribe:	Sphingini
Genus:	Dolba Walker, 1856
Species:	D. hyloeus
Binomial name
Dolba hyloeus (Drury, 1773)[1]
Synonyms
Sphinx hyloeus Drury, 1773 Sphinx prini J. E. Smith, 1797 Dolba schausi Clark, 1917 Dolba hyloeus floridensis Clark, 1919

Distribution

The pawpaw sphinx ranges throughout the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, south to Florida and west to Wisconsin, eastern Oklahoma, and southern Texas.^[1]

Description

The wingspan is 50–68 millimetres (2.0–2.7 in).^[2] While the pawpaw sphinx's cryptic coloration appears similar to that of certain Noctuid moths, such as the members of genus Catocala, the pawpaw sphinx's forewings do not overlap at rest, such that part of the abdomen remains exposed. The pawpaw sphinx can be distinguished from the rustic sphinx (Manduca rustica) by the former's smaller size and the absence of orange dots on the abdomen that the rustic sphinx exposes in flight.^[3]

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Biology

Larvae of this species feed on pawpaw, as well as blueberries^[3] and deciduous hollies such as inkberry and winterberry.^[2]