Smerinthus jamaicensis

Smerinthus jamaicensis, the twin-spotted sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.^[2]

Twin-spotted sphinx
Smerinthus jamaicensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Smerinthus
Species:	S. jamaicensis
Binomial name
Smerinthus jamaicensis (Drury, 1773)[1]
Synonyms
Sphinx jamaicensis Drury, 1773 Smerinthus geminatus Say, 1824 Calasymbolus jamaicensis tripartitus (Grote, 1886) Smerinthus jamaicensis clarkii Franck, 1913 Smerinthus jamaicensis flavitincta (Nixon, 1912) Smerinthus jamaicensis gamma Cockerell, 1925

Description

It has a wingspan of 1+3⁄4–3+1⁄4 inches (4.5–8.3 cm), with the outer margins of the forewings unevenly scalloped, but with the coastal margin of the hindwings being almost straight. Males have gray with black and white markings on their forewings, while females are yellowish brown with dark brown and white markings.

Both sexes have red hindwings with a pale yellow border. Sometimes a blue patch may appear as a single eyespot or it may be divided by black bands, creating two or three eyespots.^[3] Adult moths are nocturnal and do not feed.^[3]

Larvae are polyphageous (eat a wide variety of plants); known hosts include willow (Salix), poplar (Populus), birch (Betula), ash (Fraxinus), elm (Ulmus), apple (Malus), and plums (Prunus).^[3]

• 
  Smerinthus jamaicensis ♂
• 
  Smerinthus jamaicensis ♂ △
• 
  Smerinthus jamaicensis ♀ △

See also

• Smerinthus cerisyi
• Smerinthus saliceti