Southern Pine Sphinx

Lapara coniferarum · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sphingidae

Also called: Southern Pine Sphinx Moth

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Southern Pine Sphinx
Photo: unknown, CC0

Its larvae feed on pine species, including loblolly pine and longleaf pine.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

James Edward Smith first described this moth in 1797.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The caterpillars feed on Pinus species such as Pinus taeda and Pinus palustris.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 28 of 51 states and DC. Most records: North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, New Jersey, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland.

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

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Southern Pine Sphinx photo 3
Photo: David Garza, CC BY
Southern Pine Sphinx photo 4
Photo: unknown, CC0
Southern Pine Sphinx photo 5
Photo: Ethan, CC BY
Southern Pine Sphinx photo 6
Photo: Lauren McLaurin, CC BY

Same family (Sphingidae)

White-lined SphinxWhite-lined SphinxHyles lineataDamages trees, gardens or cropsEurasian Hummingbird HawkmothEurasian Hummingbird HawkmothMacroglossum stellatarumSnowberry ClearwingSnowberry ClearwingHemaris diffinisCarolina SphinxCarolina SphinxManduca sextaDamages trees, gardens or cropsHummingbird ClearwingHummingbird ClearwingHemaris thysbeDamages trees, gardens or cropsElephant HawkmothElephant HawkmothDeilephila elpenor

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapara_coniferarum

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.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.