Bug FAQNorthern Apple Sphinx
Sphinx poecila · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sphingidae
Also called: Poecila Sphinx, Northern Apple Sphinx Moth
The adult Northern Apple Sphinx has a wingspan between about 68 and 95 mm. Its caterpillars feed on plants such as Carolina rose, white spruce, tamarack, alder, apple, bayberry and blueberry species.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from roughly 68 mm to 95 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae eat Rosa carolina, Picea glauca, Larix laricina and species of Alnus, Malus, Myrica and Vaccinium.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found from Newfoundland and Maine down to Pennsylvania and westward to Michigan, northeastern Illinois and Wisconsin.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 15 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Sphingidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx_poecila
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.