Xylophanes tersa

Common Name(s): Tersa Sphinx

Ecology:

Adult description:
This is another distinctive moth. The forewing length is 32-36mm (1). It is brown in color with very thin forewings. There are brown streaks on the forewing, the most obvious run diagonally from the apex of the wing to the base of the wing. The thorax is brown with orange and white parallel lines on either side. The abdomen is bicolored, brown on the dorsal surface and yellow on the sides. The hindwing is black with various amounts of yellow triangles on the bottom edge. The anal angle is often totally yellow. The yellow triangles on the hindwings separate this species out from Xylophanes libya found in Florida.

Larval description:
L5: The larva is generally green or brown, but can be much darker in color. There is a distinctive set of eyespots on the thoracic segment, followed by several more pairs on the abdominal segments. These abdominal eyespots are absent in Xylophanes pluto. The horn is black.

Host plants:

Click here to load this Caspio Cloud Database

Create a Free Online Database

L5 (C) Ashley Bosarge

The gallery to the left contains photos of Xylophanes tersa adults. If you have a photo that you would like to submit to us, please contact us.

The gallery to the right contains photos of Xylophanes tersa larval and pupal stages. If you have a photo that you would like to submit to us, please contact us.