Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

13 July 2006   11:31PM EST  (top)
13 July 2005   10:17PM EST  (bottom)
Both photos are of the same specimen.

Ceratomia amyntor, also called the Elm Sphinx, is one of two species of Ceratomia recorded from the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001).

Ceratomia amyntor has light brown forewings marked in black, gray, tan and white. The basal area is defined by a set of parallel antemedial lines that angle outward below the costa to form a sharp point. The median is streaked in darker brown and black, especially in the area below the bright white reniform dot. An elongated tan shade follows the reniform dot. The postmedial series of lines forms irregular zigzags close to the costa and angles sharply inward close to the inner margin. The apex is brown, with a dark patch below it in the subterminal area. The length of the costa is paler and grayer from base to postmedial line. There are a few whitish dots in the forewing fringe. The hindwing is brown with a dark brown border and blackish lines; the hindwing fringe is intermittently white. The front and sides of the thorax are whitish, but very dark brown stripes form a horseshoe shape around the brown dorsal center. Covell (1984) gives a wingspan of 8.8 to 11.5 cm for this species, making it one of our larger sphinx or hawk moths.

According to Handfield (1999), the larva of Ceratomia amyntor feeds almost exclusively on elm, although it has also been recorded on basswood, bur oak, cherry and birch. For my general area, he gives an adult flight season from late May to early August.

My records to date for Ceratomia amyntor (each date representing "the night of") are in the table below: