Species Detail

Pink-spotted hawkmoth

Agrius cingulata (Fabricius, 1775)

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Attributes of Agrius cingulata

Family: Sphinx Moths, Hawkmoths (Sphingidae)

Subfamily: Sphinginae (Sphinginae)

Identification: Body is robust. Abdomen tapers to a point and is grayish brown with pink bands. Forewing is mottled gray and brown; hindwing is gray with black bands and pink at the base.

Life history: Caterpillars are large and stout and have a horn at the end of the abdomen. They feed both day and night. Caterpillars pupate in chambers dug in the ground. Adults are very strong fliers.

Flight: . One flight from June-October in most of the range, several flights throughout the year in Florida and Louisiana.

Wing span: 3 3/4 - 4 3/4 inches (9.5 - 12 cm).

Caterpillar hosts: Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), jimsonweed (Datura), and related plants.

Adult food: Nectar from deep-throated flowers including moonflower (Calonyction aculeatum), morning glory (Convolvulus), and petunia (Petunia species).

Habitat: Tropical and subtropical lowlands, open areas.

Range: Argentina north through Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean to the southeastern United States, Texas, southern New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California; strays northward in the summer to British Columbia, Colorado, Michigan, and Maine.

Conservation: Not usually required.

NatureServe Global Status: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Management needs: The caterpillars can be pests on sweet potatoes in the southern states.