Bug FAQTrumpet Vine Sphinx
Paratrea plebeja · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sphingidae
Also called: Plebeian Sphinx, Plebian Sphinx
The plebeian sphinx moth (Paratrea plebeja) has forewings 31 to 35 mm long and lives in the eastern United States, extending west to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas. Adults drink nectar from many flowers, while caterpillars eat trumpet-vine-type plants; in the north they appear May-August in two generations, and in the south they fly from late April-June and again August-October.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Paratrea plebeja is commonly called the plebeian sphinx moth.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The forewing length ranges from 31 to 35 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in the eastern United States, reaching west to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults sip nectar from flowers such as saponaria, phlox, petunia, mirabilis, honeysuckle, western spider-lily and verbena. Caterpillars feed on plants like trumpet vine, yellow trumpet vine, and the introduced Cape honeysuckle.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In northern areas adults emerge in two generations from May through August. In southern areas there are at least two generations, flying late April to June and again August to October.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Northern adults are active May-August; southern adults are on wing late April-June and August-October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are plebeian sphinx moths active?
In the north they fly from May to August, while in the south they appear late April to June and again August to October.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on trumpet vine, yellow trumpet vine, and the introduced Cape honeysuckle.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find this moth?
It lives in the eastern United States, extending west to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern 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/Paratrea
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.