Moths of North Carolina

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Amorpha juglandis (J.E. Smith, 1797) - Walnut Sphinx

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Bombycoidea

Family:
Sphingidae

Subfamily:
Smerinthinae

Tribe:
Smerinthini

P3 Number:
890149.5

MONA Number:
7827.00

Comments: A monotypic genus, this species has been associated with the genus Laothoe since Hodges misplaced it there in 1971. See Tuttle (2007) for a discussion of this misplacement.

Species Status: Barcodes indicate a single species.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948); Hodges (1971); Tuttle (2007)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1948); Wagner (2005); Tuttle (2007)

Adult Markings: Adult pattern variable but largely a medium sized light brown species with scalloped wing margins and a strongly slanting postmedian that converges towards the antemedian at the inner margin. Sexes are similar. Larva are similar to those of Paonias: green with white granules and striped with seven oblique pale lines along the sides, the last of which the most prominent and extending up to the base of the caudal horn, which is very short in this species.

Wingspan: 4.5 - 7.5 cm (Covell, 1984)

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: Larvae are said to produce a squeaky noise, the function of which has not been investigated. Pupation occurs underground.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Occurs statewide.

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
Immature Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: A single brood in the mountains and two or three broods in the coastal plain.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Occurs in a wide range of mesic to dry habitats dominated by hardwoods, including Deciduous Maritime Forests on the Outer Banks to Cove Forests and Northern Hardwoods in the Mountains. In between, it occurs in bottomlands, mesic slopes, and dry ridges. Records are essentially absent from peatland and Longleaf Pine communities, habitats where both hickories (except Sand Hickory in sandhills habitats) and walnuts are marginal or missing. Only a very few records come from blackwater bottomlands, which suggests that Hornbeam -- a common species in those habitats -- is not a prominent host plant in North Carolina.

Larval Host Plants: Walnut and hickories (Juglandaceae) are the primary hosts, but the species has also been reported to feed on two members of the Betualceae, American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) and American Hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), in the northern part of its range (Wagner, 2005). In North Carolina, the species has been observed feeding on hickory (Carya) and walnut (Juglans/i>). - View

Observation Methods: Like other members of this subfamily (Smerinthinae) adults visit lights but not flowers nor bait. Most of our records come from 15 watt UV lights, usually as single individuals but rarely in multiples.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Hardwood Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S5]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments: Given its wide distribution in the state, use of a variety of forest habitats and common host plants, this species appears to be secure. If anything, this species appears to be more common than it was 30 years ago.

Photo Gallery for Amorpha juglandis - Walnut Sphinx

106 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-07-26 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-26 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Mark Basinger on 2025-06-23 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Larry Chen, Sarah Toner, Joye Zhou on 2025-06-20 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-09 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-05-02 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-12 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-05 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George on 2024-08-30 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2024-08-19 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kenneth Geisert, David Bradley, Julie Tuttle, Patrick Coin, Kaitlyn Elliott, Becky Watkins on 2024-08-17 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-16 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-08-06 Graham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-14 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-06-25 Yancey Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-24 Yancey Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell and Simpson Eason on 2024-06-19 Graham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-16 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-10 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-09 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-06-07 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-01 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-14 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-13 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-12 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-29 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-04-27 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-04-19 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2024-04-17 New Hanover Co. Comment:		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-04-17 Transylvania Co. Comment: