The Sphinx Moth

     Great surfing conditions persist on the leeward shore of the Big Island.  This means that snorkeling and fish watching have been on the back burner.  That does not mean that our zoological observations have come to a screeching halt.  We have monarchs and swallowtail butterflies flying through our yard, cardinals to serenade us in the morning and coqui frogs at night.

     On Saturday the butterfly exhibit came down at the Kailua Kona library.  It was truly gratifying

Boerhavia Sphinx Moth in the carport at Casa Ono, February 2020

how the people associated with the library came by to tell me what a success it had been.  The very next morning, as we were getting ready to head for church, we received a blessing in the form of a Boerhavia sphynx moth that had chosen to roost for the day inside our carport.

    As we started learning about butterflies, our internet sources had instructed us on the moths of Hawaii, as well.   Besides the much smaller and prosaic moths, I had only seen the large black witch and that species was the only one included in the exhibit.  It was tantalizing to look at the pictures of the other larger moths that should be found in our area.  And it was a little frustrating, as well;  aside from leaving a light on at night, there is no good way to attract moths.

    Suffice it to say, we were very pleased with our sphynx moth.  As luck would have it, Sandra had checked out a book, Hawaii's Butterflies and Moths, by Jamieson and Denny just the week before. There was a Cracker Jack picture of our new friend.  The authors made a sspecial note of the rose colored patch at the back of the after wing.  I would have called it a rufous patch, but why quibble?  The book goes on to tells us that Hippotion rosetta comes from Southeast Asia, was first noticed on

Pentas spp growing wild in the garden at Casa Ono, February 2020  photo by SKG

Oahu and Kauai in 1998 and uses Boerhavia and Pentas (two genera of flowering shrubs) as its host plants.  Sandra is apparently a more avid lepidopterist than I.  She made the effort to study these two plants on the internet and found Pentas growing as a favored weed in our garden.

    As an aside, the book shows the larval stage of the caterpillar of this species as being a gorgeous turquoise.  The older caterpillar, by comparison,  is a boring combo of gray, black and brown.

   It is of interest that at the time of printing, 2002, the book stated that the Boehavia Sphinx moth was found only on Kauai and Oahu.  My sweetie is here to tell you, that is no longer true.  You keep looking and maybe you can find a new species of moth for your island!

Yours 'til the butter flies,
jeff