Bug FAQPawpaw Sphinx
Dolba hyloeus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sphingidae
Also called: Pawpaw Sphinx Moth
The pawpaw sphinx has a wingspan of about 5 to 7 cm. It lives across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, reaching as far south as Florida and west to Texas and Wisconsin.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
When at rest the forewings do not cover the abdomen, leaving part of it exposed. It is smaller than the rustic sphinx and lacks the orange abdominal spots that the rustic sphinx shows in flight.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 50 to 68 mm (2.0 to 2.7 in).
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae eat pawpaw, blueberries, and hollies such as inkberry and winterberry.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Dolba is a monotypic genus; its only species, Dolba hyloeus, was first described in 1773.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range covers the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Its cryptic colour resembles some Noctuid moths like Catocala, but the forewings stay apart at rest, exposing the abdomen. It can be told apart from the rustic sphinx by its smaller size and the lack of orange abdominal dots.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 36 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Connecticut.
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
Where is the pawpaw sphinx found?
It occurs across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, from Florida up to Wisconsin and into southern Texas.
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/Dolba
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.