Nessus Sphinx (Amphion floridensis)

Nectaring on what I'm assuming was stray dog feces. At a mixed forest edge.

It was a struggle to photograph this moth as it was moving so quickly. The wingbeats were so fast that the air was vibrating!

comments (5)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Spectacular find! I wonder if you ever tried putting out bait for moths?

We once tried with rotten fish in Colombia. Then a vulture picked it up and that was the bait. Super successful.
Given the food source on your photo, I might as well share another appetizing one: human urine. Or possibly any urine. Probably due to salt/minerals. Could be that you already knew this, just sharing experiences. Posted 4 years ago
1. Flown Kimmerling
  
  Lion
  
  Interesting bait choice! :D I have tried some banana/liquor mash in the past-- but not in recent years (worried about critters and fire ants out here). I hadn't thought about urine, but that makes a lot of sense. I wonder if they would enjoy it more if you had a sweet meal or drink before urinating? Many butterflies love to nectar on human sweat during summer months--and will even land on you to get a drink! Posted 4 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Absolutely sweat is another attraction. I love how people mistake this attraction for thinking the butterfly really just happens to like them. No harm in thinking that, I guess :)
    
    I came to the urine conclusion after noticing how alongside roads and in national parks near reception areas, we'd find concentrated flocks of butterflies in highly specific spots. Like so:
    
    All hyper focusing on that tiny spot. Yet nothing of substance was there. Until it sinked in. The food source is "trucker's piss". That's why they're besides the roads.
    
    So looks like it's time to draw a map for Jason. We need to verify this. Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
  2. 1. Flown Kimmerling
      
      Lion
      
      I don't mind being the tastiest option around for Leps :D
      
      That is an awesome anecdote! Jason pees outside a lot (we live out in the woods, so no one is judging LOL), so it shouldn't be hard to experiment with this. I know that the Hybrid Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta x richteri) do NOT like urine (and will move their colonies in its presence). We've been using it as a sort of natural pest control to keep them away from our garden and house area.
      
      Bees, wasps, and flies love it, of course! Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Lol clever pest control. Posted 4 years ago

The Nessus sphinx

''Amphion floridensis'', the Nessus sphinx, is a day-flying moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was named by Benjamin Preston Clark in 1920. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphion'' erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. It lives throughout the eastern United States and Canada and occasionally south into Mexico, and is one of the more commonly encountered day-flying moths in the region, easily recognized by the two bright-yellow bands across the abdomen.

Info 3 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Flown Kimmerling