Insects › Sphinx Moths

Western Poplar Sphinx

Pachysphinx occidentalis

Easily confused with

Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.

Where it is recorded

Records by month in Arizona.January 50, February 45, March 60, April 80, May 73, June 36, July 182, August 99, September 39, October 37, November 38, December 43.
United States1,718
Arizona667
New Mexico272
California237
Texas221
Nevada152
Colorado140
Utah121
Mexico43
Canada30

Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.

Traits

Physical

  • MetamorphosisUndergoes dramatic body transformation during developmentFrom its classification
  • ExoskeletonHas a hard external skeletonFrom its classification

Group and habits

  • Animal pollinatorDescends from an animal lineage whose members commonly pollinate flowers.Inferred from its group

Classification

KingdomAnimals · Animalia
PhylumArthropods · Arthropoda
ClassInsects · Insecta
OrderButterflies and Moths · Lepidoptera
FamilySphinx Moths · Sphingidae
GenusPachysphinx

Sources

Remember the name next time.

Practise Western Poplar Sphinx with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.