Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Baldcypress sphinx
Isoparce cupressi (Boisduval, 1875)


Family: Sphingidae
Subfamily: Sphinginae
Identification: Fringes are checkered with white to yellowish gray and black. Forewing is gray with 2 longitudinal broken black dashes, the lower one thicker and with a patch of orange-brown above it. Hindwing is dark gray.
Wing Span: 2 3/8 - 2 9/16 inches (6 - 6.5 cm).
Life History: Females lay eggs singly, scattered on the underside of baldcypress needles. Caterpillars feed on the needles at night and pupate in shallow burrows underground. Caterpillars of the second generation pupate and overwinter in their burrows.
Flight: . Two flights from February-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum).
Adult Food: Adults have short tongues and probably do not feed.
Habitat: Cypress swamps.
Range: Coastal Maryland south to Florida, west to Arkansas and Texas.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
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