Walnut Sphinx – Cressonia juglandis

Walnut Sphinx – Cressonia Juglandis Scientific Name: Cressonia Juglandis, Amorpha Juglandis Common Name: Walnut Sphinx Distribution: It is indigenous to North America, ranging in distribution between Canada’s and the United States’ Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Host plants: Alder (Alnus), hickory (Carya), hazelnut (Corylus), beech (Fagus), walnut (Juglans), and hop-hornbeam (Ostrya) species are among the foods that the caterpillar consumes. Identification: Adult: pattern varies from subtle to prominent; hindwing has no “flash” pattern; outer edges of all wings are scalloped to wavy; proboscis extremely small; forewing and hindwing color highly varied, from uniformly brown to numerous hues, frequently with a white, pinkish, or purple tinge. Larva: mostly green (but occasionally red) body with many tiny raised white granules and seven pairs of oblique lateral yellow lines; anal horn tinted red; highly variable markings, especially red ones; pointed head with lateral yellow line running from eyes to crown. Life Cycle: One kind of moth is Amorpha juglandins, often known as the walnut sphinx. It belongs to the monotypic (there is just one species in the genus Amorpha). Jacob Hübner made notice of it in 1809 and it belongs to the Sphingidae family. James Edward Smith gave the first description of it in 1797. There has a 45–75 mm wingspan. Mature moths only come out at night.  The caterpillar has the ability to whistle loudly. It originates from the abdomen’s spiracles. The bird will likely not eat it since it will be startled by this. One to four generations per year, depending on latitude. Damage: The leaves of alder, beech, butternut (Juglans cinerea), cherry (Prunus spp.), chestnut, hazel (Corylus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), and hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) provide the food source for larvae. Adults do not feed on these plants. Management:  None reported.