Lepidoptera

These small moths can be recognized by their bicoloured hind wings. The base of their forewings is clear, grey, green or whitish, and the other extremity is darker, either reddish brown or dark grey. They range in size from 11 to 20 mm.

The white or yellowish caterpillars are hairless, with orange-brown heads. They moult five times and measure up to 12 cm long in the last instar.

The two sexes are easy to distinguish: the females have white wings with black spots and thin antennae, while the males are darker and smaller and have feathery antennae. The wings are marked with wavy grey lines in both sexes. Their wingspan is 3 to 4 cm for males and 5.6 to 6.7 cm for females. The females are so heavy that they cannot fly.

In their last stage, the caterpillars are hairy and have small raised coloured spots on their backs. The spots nearest the head are blue, and those farther down the body, red. The head is black and yellow. The caterpillars may be up to 6.5 cm long.

These moths’ wings have scalloped margins. The forewings are brown with lighter markings, and the hindwings are yellow with dark edges. In flight they can be confused with bumble bees, since they emit a buzzing sound as they forage among flowers.

The females are nocturnal, while the males are crepuscular (active at sunset).

When at rest, they perch on the bark of a tree and curve their abdomens upward between the wings. Their wingspan ranges from 5.1 to 7 cm.

The young caterpillars are green, with a horn-shaped growth at the tip of the abdomen. Later, after one moult, they turn whitish or bluish-green. The “horn” disappears and is replaced by a rounded orange knob. In the last instar, the caterpillar reaches 7.5 cm and has two forms: either brown, or with 10 pale green spots on a brown background. In both cases, there is a growth resembling a large eye at the tip of the abdomen.

These large moths are recognizable by their hairy bodies and pale grey or light brown wings marked with wavy black and white lines. There is also a small roundish spot on each of the forewings. At rest, the triangular forewings completely cover the hindwings. These moths have a wingspan of up to 11 cm. They are among the most common sphinx moths.

The caterpillars are green, sometimes reddish-brown, with a pinkish spine at the tip of the abdomen. They have seven light slanted lines on each side of the body. In the final instar, the caterpillars may measure up to 7.5 cm.