Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Sphingidae Scientific name Paratrea plebeja | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Paratrea
Grote, 1903 Rank Species | |
Similar Lapara coniferarum, Darapsa versicolor, Manduca jasminearum, Dolba hyloeus, Sphinx gordius | ||
Paratrea plebeja (plebeian sphinx moth) is a moth of the family Sphingidae and only member of the Paratrea genus. It is found in the eastern part of the United States up to the Great Plains. It is also present in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas.
The length of the forewing is 31–35 mm. In the north, adults are on wing in two generations with adults on wing from May to August. In the south, there are at least two generations with adults on wing from the end of April to June and from August to October, but from April to November in Florida and from March to September in Louisiana. Adults feed on the nectar of Saponaria officinalis, Phlox, Petunia, Mirabilis, Lonicera, Hymenocallis caroliniana and Verbena.
The larvae feed on Campsis radicans, Tecoma stans and introduced Tecomaria capensis.