Bug FAQElegant Sphinx
Sphinx perelegans · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sphingidae
Also called: Elegant Sphinx Moth
Adult Elegant Sphinx moths have a wingspan of about 9 to 11 cm and forewings 43 to 50 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Forewings are dark gray with a pale gray patch from the base to the centre and a pale line along the outer edge. Several black lines run lengthwise across the middle of the forewing.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 9 to 11 cm, and each forewing measures 43 to 50 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
In low-elevation brushland and oak woodland west of the Cascades, and in mixed hardwood-conifer forests at higher elevations of the Cascades and Siskiyou Mountains.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults sometimes sip nectar from Oenothera and Rhododendron flowers. Larvae feed on a variety of plants including Arctostaphylos, Prunus, Symphoricarpos, Arbutus menziesii and Cercocarpus betuloides.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from April through September. Caterpillars turn pale green as they feed and grow to about 70 to 75 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active from April to September.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 13 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars look like?
They are pale green and grow up to about 70 to 75 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find these moths?
They live in western North America from British Columbia to Baja California Sur, in brushland, oak woodland, and mixed hardwood-conifer forests.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Sphingidae)
White-lined SphinxHyles lineataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Eurasian Hummingbird HawkmothMacroglossum stellatarum
Snowberry ClearwingHemaris diffinis
Carolina SphinxManduca sextaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Hummingbird ClearwingHemaris thysbeDamages trees, gardens or crops
Elephant HawkmothDeilephila elpenorSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx_perelegans
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.