Hyles
lineata – White-lined
Sphinx
Adult:
Wingspan – 70-80mm.
Order
Lepidoptera/ Family Sphingidae – Sphinx Moths
The
White-lined Sphinx is common throughout San Diego County from the coast to
the desert. These beautiful moths are a delight to see as they hover about
flowers like hummingbirds from spring to fall. At the Extension they
especially like the flowers of Mimulus
arantiacus puniceus, the Coast Sticky-leaf Monkey Flower and Delphinium cardinale, Scarlet larkspur. In the desert areas in years
of good rain, their numbers can be astounding. The huge orange, black and
green streaked larvae, to 10cm., are primarily hosted by plants of the
Four O’clock Family, Nyctaginaceae and Primrose Family Onagraceae. At
the Reserve these two families are well represented. Watch for the larvae
on the Pink Sand Verbena, Abronia
umbellata or the Wishbone Plant, Mirabilis
californica along the Guy Fleming or Parry Grove trails.
An
interesting side issue which is usually not touched upon, is the practice
of Entomophagy, or the use of insects as food by man. “The larvae of Hyles
lineata were harvested by the people of the Colorado Desert in years
of good rain and they called this ‘Piyatem’ or ‘Piyaxtem’ which
was plural for ‘Piyakhut’. The larvae were collected in early spring
and often eaten raw on the spot, but also much of the harvest was parched
over hot coals and stored in baskets or skins for later use.” From:
Bean, John Lowell 1972 - Mukat’s People. Berkeley: University of
California Press
Adult:
Wingspan – 125mm.
Order Lepidoptera/ Family Saturniidae – Silk Moths
These
large moths are most often seen around lights at night in areas which
support their primary larval hosts, Wild lilac, Ceanothus
spp. and other plants of the family Rhamnaceae. They are fairly common
from spring through the fall from coast to foothills. The pale green
caterpillars are seldom seen, however, because they tend to retreat into
the foliage after early morning hours and blend quite well to their
background. The rough gray cocoons, made of silk, usually embedded or
coated with leaf matter, hang from branches with the pointed end down like
a dead clump of leaves, fooling the most trained of eyes. A close relative
and very similar species of Eastern North America, is the Cecropia Moth, Hyalophora
cecropia.
Adult:
Wingspan – 45mm.
Order
Lepidoptera/ Family Arctiidae – Tiger Moths
A striking family of moths, all species are variously boldly colored and patterned. This is the most common species to be found in Southern California. The specimen pictured is that of the female, the male differing with hind wing white instead of rose. The bright coloring of the abdomen along with that of the hind wing is used primarily in defense against potential predators. When disturbed, the moth will open its wings to suddenly expose the bright color, thus giving pause to the predator’s attack and perhaps added time to fly away. The Arctiid moths also emit a distasteful aromatic compound called Acetylcholine (ammonia based) from a pair of caudal glands if molested. The dark brown caterpillars, called woolybears, with long dense hairs are one of the most familiar sights to gardeners as they often expose them while weeding. Larval hosts are mainly those plants of the Malvaceae and commonly the larvae feed on the introduced Cheeseweed, Malva parviflora.