Gaudy sphinx
The gaudy sphinx is a big, fast hawk moth with a deep green body and green front wings. Its back wings flash purple-blue patches, yellow edges and a red spot. Gaudy means very bright and showy, and this moth really is.
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Fun facts
Its caterpillar looks like the head of a snake.
When it is ready to become a pupa, the caterpillar climbs down and digs into the ground.
Just before it hatches, the pupa wiggles its way up to the surface.
A new moth pumps liquid into its soft wings to stretch them out.
At night the female gives off a scent, and males fly into the wind to follow it to her.
Most asked questions about Gaudy sphinx
?How big is the gaudy sphinx?
Its wings are about 11 to 12 centimetres across.
?What does the gaudy sphinx caterpillar eat?
It eats the leaves of grapevines and other vines.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Eumorpha labruscae
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Sphingidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Sphingidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Eumorpha labruscae (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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