Paratrea plebeja
Plebeian sphinx
Paratrea plebeja courtesy of Paul Opler.
This site has been created by
Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.
TAXONOMY:
Family: Sphingidae Latreille [1802]
Subfamily: Sphinginae Latreille, [1802]
Tribe: Sphingini Latreille, [1802]
Genus: Paratrea Grote, 1903 ...........
Species: plebeja Fabricius, 1777
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DISTRIBUTION:
The Plebeian Sphinx, Paratrea plebeja
(Wing span: 2 3/8 - 3 inches (6 - 7.5 cm)), flies from Connecticut south to Florida; west to Nebraska, Kansas,
Oklahoma, and Texas. The moth is also taken in Veracruz, Mexico.
Paratrea plebeja
© Patrick Coin, used with permission,
Durham County, North Carolina,
May 28, 2004
The upperside of the forewing is gray with indistinct black and white markings. There is a series of black dashes from
the base to the tip, and a small white cell spot. The upperside of the hindwing is dark gray with an obscure dark median
band.
Paratrea plebeja, Gloucester County, New Jersey, courtesy of
Jesse Donavan.
FLIGHT TIMES:
Paratrea plebeja adults fly as a single brood in the northern portions of their range
from May-July. In southerly locales there are at least two broods
from March-November.
ECLOSION:
Pupae probably wiggle to surface from subterranean chambers just prior to eclosion.
SCENTING AND MATING:
Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the
abdomen. Adults nectar at deep throated flowers including honeysuckle, bouncing bet, and verbena.
EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:
Larvae feed at
night, hiding on the underside of stems during the day.
Preferred hosts are common trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans),
Florida yellow-trumpet (Tecoma stans),
lilac (Syringa species), and passionflower (Passiflora
species). Jean Haxaire reports them on Tecoma stans.Larval image courtesy of Doug Malone. |
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Paratrea plebeja eastern Kansas, courtesy of Antonia Felix,
id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by James P. Tuttle.
Fully-grown caterpillars pupate in chambers in soft soil.
Paratrea plebeja courtesy/copyright
David Wagner.
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