Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?
The answer to last week’s mystery is Pandora sphinx moth, Eumorpha pandorus, pictured in photo #2.
The Pandora sphinx moth, Eumorpha pandorus, is a large member of the sphinx and hawk moth family, Sphingidae. Its caterpillars can grow more than 3″ long, beginning life green before later molts may turn them reddish-brown or chocolate-colored with bright white spots along their sides. Young caterpillars also carry the familiar harmless “horn” seen in many sphinx moth larvae, though by the final instar only a raised eyespot remains at the rear of the abdomen.
Pandora sphinx caterpillars are enthusiastic eaters, feeding heavily on host plants such as Virginia creeper and grape. When alarmed, they can retract their small head and front body segments, giving them a compact, defensive appearance. Once fully grown, the caterpillar leaves its host plant and burrows into the soil to pupate. The pupa may remain underground for only a few weeks during the growing season, or spend the entire winter there before the adult moth emerges.
Adult Pandora sphinx moths are large and powerful fliers with thick, furry bodies and long proboscises designed to reach nectar deep inside flowers. They are most active around dusk, though sphinx moths as a group may fly by day, twilight, or night. Females lay their eggs individually on host plants, and at night release pheromones that males track through the air. With two broods possible during the summer, this moth can pass through its entire remarkable life cycle more than once in a season.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.
