How to identify a Virginia creeper sphinx
This is one of the more colorful small sphinx moths, with a wingspan of roughly 2 to 2.5 inches. The forewings are a soft olive-green washed with pinkish or rosy-brown bands, and a darker zigzag crosses the wing, breaking up its outline against bark and leaves. The hindwings flash a warm orange-buff when the moth is active. The body is stout and the wings are narrow and pointed, the classic sphinx-moth silhouette, but the overall size is much smaller than the big Carolina sphinx.
Where it lives
The Virginia creeper sphinx ranges across the eastern and central United States and follows its vine host plants into gardens, woodland edges, and old fields. Open occurrence records cluster in Texas, New York, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia, reflecting both the southern reach of the species and its strong presence up the East Coast. Anywhere wild grape or Virginia creeper grows thick along a fence line or forest edge is good habitat.
When it flies
Adults are on the wing chiefly from June through August. In the warmer southern parts of the range there can be more than one brood, stretching sightings across the summer, while farther north the flight is more concentrated in mid-summer.
Caterpillar, host plants, and life cycle
The caterpillar is a smooth green hornworm-type larva that feeds on grape (Vitis), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus), and ampelopsis vines, which is exactly how the moth earned its name. Some larvae are green and some are reddish-brown, and both have a small tail horn typical of sphinx caterpillars. Mature larvae pupate in leaf litter or just under the soil, and the adults emerge to feed on flower nectar, mate, and lay eggs back on the vines.
How to see one at night
Adults visit flowers at dusk, hovering briefly like a tiny hummingbird, so a patch of tubular blossoms is a good place to watch at last light. To bring them to you, set up a UV or mercury-vapor light against a white sheet, which outperforms a plain white LED for sphinx moths. Remember that the light works by disrupting the moth's orientation rather than by attracting it to a goal, so a calm, warm, moonless night gives the strongest results. Pick the right evening with our good night for moths guide, compare it with the larger Carolina sphinx, or see what's flying tonight near you.