Banded sphinx
Eumorpha fasciatus
The banded sphinx is a big hawk moth from the warm parts of the Americas. It is a strong flier that sips nectar from flowers like petunias. Its caterpillars come in many different colours and patterns.
Lives in
From Argentina through Central America to the southern United States and the Caribbean
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Grown-ups drink nectar from flowers such as petunias and periwinkles. The caterpillars eat water primrose, grape vines and fuchsias.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
Banded sphinx about 45 km/h (28 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
In the tropics it flies all year round.
2
Its caterpillars dig a burrow in the ground to turn into a pupa.
3
One subspecies lives only on the Galápagos Islands.
4
Sometimes it strays as far north as New York and Nova Scotia.
you asked
Most asked questions about Banded sphinx
?What does the banded sphinx eat?
Adults drink flower nectar. Caterpillars eat water primrose and grape leaves.
?Where does the banded sphinx live?
From South America through Central America to the southern United States.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Eumorpha fasciatus
- Named by
- Sulzer, 1776
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Sphingidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Sphingidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Eumorpha fasciatus (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 Shaina Noggle. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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