Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« »
View PDFSphingidae Members:
Sphinx Members:
56 NC Records

Sphinx gordius Cramer, 1780 - Apple Sphinx

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Bombycoidea Family: SphingidaeSubfamily: SphinginaeTribe: SphinginiP3 Number: 890119.00 MONA Number: 7810.00
Comments: This large genus of some 27 species ranges from England to Japan and down through the Americas. There are approximately 14 resident species in North America and at least 5 in North Carolina. Two very different larval types occur in the genus and it is likely that Sphinx is composed of more than one genus.
Species Status: Gordius belongs to a complex of species that also includes S. poecilia and S. luscitosa. Currently, only gordius is believed to exist in North Carolina, but the interrelationships of these three species are quite complicated, as revealed by DNA barcoding. Seven samples indicate a single, homogenous population but individuals from Columbus and Bladen counties barcode with S. luscitosa even though S. poecilia is thought to be the closer species. S. luscitosa also has sexual dimorphism which the other two species do not and it does not use the same foodplants. The most logical explanation is that a female S. luscitosa hybridized with a S. gordius male in the past and that female barcode has become fixed in some S. gordius populations (the gene used in barcoding is mitochondrial and thus inherited in the female line). The barcodes exactly match those from two S. luscitosa captured in New York. Other individuals taken at the same time in Bladen county match the normal S. gordius phenotypes. Populations from the Blue Ridge have yet to be looked at gentically and their relationship to populations in the Coastal Plain still need to be determined. Clearly this species requires additional studies in North Carolina and elsewhere.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948); Hodges (1971); Tuttle (2007)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1948); Wagner (2005); Tuttle (2007)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium sized gray sphinx moth streaked with narrow black dashes and variably shaded with brown; thorax is contrastingly black, edged with white and the hindwings are also banded with black and white. As in the similar Paratrea plebeja, gordius possesses a small, white discal spot but gordius shows more contrast between its darker thorax and abdomen and its lighter gray ground color on the wings. Sexes are similar.
Wingspan: 6.8 - 9.5 cm (Covell, 1984)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae follow the typical sphinx pattern being usually green and laterally striped with seven pale, oblique bands; these bands are often edged with crimson, magenta or black (see Forbes, 1948, and Wagner, 2005 for details). Pupation occurs underground.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Common in the Coastal Plain but known farther west from just two records from the Blue Ridge.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge