''Paratrea'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

moth genus in the family

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths commonly called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as hornworms. It includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, but species ar ...

erected by

Augustus Radcliffe Grote Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who Species description, described over 1,000 species of Lepidoptera, butterflies and moths.Osborn, H. 1937. Fragments of Entomological History. Columb ...

in 1903. Its sole species, ''Paratrea plebeja'', commonly known as the plebeian sphinx moth, was first described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johann Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is co ...

in 1777. This species is found in the eastern part of the United States extending westward to

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and eastern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The length of the forewing is measured 31–35 mm. In the northern regions, adults are active in two generations, flying from May to August. In the southern regions, there are at least two generations, with adults on the wing from late April to June and from August to October. In Florida, adults are active from April to November, and in Louisiana, they are seen from March to September. Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including ''

Saponaria officinalis ''Saponaria officinalis'' is a common perennial plant from the family Caryophyllaceae. This plant has many common names, including common soapwort, bouncing-bet, crow soap, wild sweet William, and soapweed. There are about 20 species of soapwor ...

'', ''

Phlox ''Phlox'' (; "flame"; plural "phlox" or "phloxes", ) is a genus of 68 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America (one in Siberia) in diverse habitats from alpine tundra to open ...

'', ''

Petunia ''Petunia'' is a genus of 20 species of flowering plants of South American origin. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word , 'tobacco', from a Tupi–Guarani language. A tender perennial plan ...

'', '' Mirabilis'', ''

Lonicera Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely known species include ...

'', '' Hymenocallis occidentalis'' and ''

Verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas ...

''. The larvae feed on plants such as ''

Campsis radicans ''Campsis radicans'', the trumpet vine, yellow trumpet vine, or trumpet creeper (also known in North America as cow-itch vine or hummingbird vine), is a species of flowering plant in the trumpet vine family Bignoniaceae, native to eastern North ...

'', ''

Tecoma stans ''Tecoma stans'' is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas. Common names include yellow trumpetbush, yellow bells, yellow elder, ginger Thomas. ''Tecoma stans'' is the o ...

,'' and introduced ''

Tecomaria capensis ''Tecomaria capensis'', the Cape honeysuckle, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Bignoniaceae, native plant, native to southern Africa. Despite its common name, it is not closely related to the true honeysuckle. Desc ...

''.

References

External links

"Plebeian sphinx (''Paratrea plebeja'')"
''Moths of North America''. Archived December 2, 2005. Sphingini Moths described in 1777 Moths of North America Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote Monotypic moth genera Sphingidae genera {{Sphinginae-stub