Catalpa Sphinx

Ceratomia catalpae

The Catalpa Sphinx is a big, beautiful caterpillar that turns into a moth. It loves to munch on catalpa tree leaves and can be spotted in gardens and parks during summer.

Lebensraum: Urban areas, Gardens

Aussehen

The Catalpa Sphinx is a medium to large moth, typically gray-brown with dark, wavy lines and a distinct V-shaped mark on its forewings. Its caterpillars are strikingly patterned, ranging from pale green to black, often with yellow or white stripes and a prominent black 'horn' at their rear.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungLepidopteraFamilieSphingidaeGattungCeratomia

Catalpa Sphinx

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Catalpa Sphinx caterpillars are super picky eaters; they only eat leaves from catalpa trees!

Despite their spiky tail horn, Catalpa Sphinx caterpillars are completely harmless to touch!

The adult moths are excellent flyers, able to hover in mid-air like tiny helicopters!

These hungry caterpillars can completely strip a whole catalpa tree bare of its leaves!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Catalpa Sphinx caterpillars can rapidly munch through catalpa leaves because of their powerful jaws, helping them grow big quickly.

Adult Catalpa Sphinx moths can fly swiftly and accurately at night, using their large wings to find mates and avoid predators.

The caterpillar has a harmless, spiky "horn" on its tail that helps it look intimidating to potential predators.

Adult moths have mottled grey and brown wings that allow them to perfectly disappear against tree bark during the day.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 70-110 mm
Größe: 30-40 mm
Lebenserwartung: 7-10 Tage
Fluggeschwindigkeit: 30-45 km/h
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

These insects feast primarily on the leaves of catalpa trees, growing big and strong.

Altersunterschiede: Larvae (caterpillars) are voracious leaf-eaters, while adult moths rarely feed, focusing on reproduction.

Hauptnahrung

Catalpa bignonioides
Catalpa speciosa

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

depends on

Southern Catalpa

Catalpa bignonioides

Its caterpillars feed exclusively on its leaves.

parasitizes

Braconid Wasp

Cotesia congregata

Lays eggs inside the caterpillar, eventually killing it.

eats

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

Blue Jays frequently prey on the slow-moving caterpillars.

eaten by

Little Brown Bat

Myotis lucifugus

Adult moths are a food source for bats.

Merkmale

Gestreift

Gekennzeichnet durch parallele Farbstreifen oder -linien.

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Pflanzenfressend

Dieses Merkmal kennzeichnet Lebewesen, deren Ernährung vollständig oder hauptsächlich aus pflanzlichem Material besteht.

Stadtangepasst

Dieses Lebensraummerkmal weist auf Arten hin, die in städtischen und vorstädtischen Umgebungen mit Menschen zusammenleben können und von Menschen geschaffene Strukturen sowie Grünflächen nutzen.