Moth Photographers Group – Ceratomia amyntor

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

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Sphingidae

890102 – 7786 Ceratomia amyntor (Geyer, [1835])

Elm Sphinx

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Distribution:	Found in Canada from Nova Scotia west to Saskatchewan. In the US, it occurs from New England west to North Dakota, Nebraska and Eastern Colorado. It is less common in the south, but can be found from Florida to eastern Texas.
Seasonality and Size:	One brood in the north from May-Oct, two broods in the south. Wingspan 88 - 115 mm.
Larva and Host Plants:	Larva is brown or green, with spinulose horns on the thorax, in addition to the horn at the end of the abdomen, leading to its alternate common name of Four-horned Sphinx. Much of the body is covered with white granules and a ridge of scalelike plates runs down the dorsal midline. The food plants are elm, basswood, and birch.
Description/ Field Marks:	• brown thorax with wide darker brown stripes towards the edges. • forewing light brown with whitish pm. line, dark streaks along veins, white tint along the costa and whitish reniform spot. • hindwing brown with a dark brown border and incomplete lines.
Similar Species:	C. hageni: pattern overlaid with green, pale gray patches at tip of forewing and mid-costa. Found only in Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas. C. sonorensis: found in southern Arizona, 3 black dashes on forewing. C. undulosa (Waved Sphinx): reniform spot large, white with black outline. C. catalpae (Catalpa Sphinx): yellowish brown with relatively indistinct lines on forewing. Reniform spot black with gray filling. Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:	amyntor (Geyer, [1835]) (Agrius) - MONA 1983: 7786 quadricornis Harris, 1839 (Ceratomia) ulmi Boisduval, [1875] (Ceratomia)

References

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification, and some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.
Covell Field Guide p.33; Pl. 3(9, male).
Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history)
Hodges, R. W., 1971. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 21:p. 41; pl. 2.6. order or free PDF
Species Page at Bill Oehlke's moth website - Ceratomia amyntor
Species Page at Block Island Moths
Species Page at BugGuide.Net
Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum
Species Page at Mass Moths
Species Page at Pacific Northwest Moths
Species page at Moths of North Dakota.
Tuttle, J. P., 2007. Hawk Moths of North America: p. 63; pl. 9.8.
Wagner, D. L., (2005). Caterpillars of Eastern North America, p. 250.

Moth Photographers Group at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at the Mississippi State University

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