''Proserpinus clarkiae'', or Clark's sphinx, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomol ...

in 1852. It is known from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

south through

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, east to

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. The habitat consists of oak woodland and pine-oak woodland in foothills.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 30–38 mm. The forewing underside basal orange colour is vestigial or absent. The hindwing upperside is pale orange or yellowish and the marginal band of the hindwing is black. Proserpinus clarkiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 Lime Kiln Canyon San Benito Co. female dorsal.jpg, Female Proserpinus clarkiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 Lime Kiln Canyon San Benito Co. female ventral.jpg, Female underside Proserpinus clarkiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 White Pass (Washington) male dorsal.jpg, Male Proserpinus clarkiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 11 White Pass (Washington) male ventral.jpg, Male underside

Biology

Adults are on wing from mid-March to June in one generation per year. They feed on the nectar of various flowers, including ''

Salvia columbariae ''Salvia columbariae'' is an annual plant that is commonly called chia, chia sage, golden chia, or desert chia, because its seeds are used in the same way as those of ''Salvia hispanica'' ( chia). It grows in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, ...

'', ''

Asclepias cordifolia ''Asclepias cordifolia'' is a species of milkweed commonly called heart-leaf milkweed or purple milkweed (a common name shared with another milkweed, '' Asclepias purpurascens''). It is native to the western United States (California, Nevada, Or ...

'', '' Ribes aureum'', ''

Dipterostemon capitatus ''Dipterostemon'' is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae. Its only species is ''Dipterostemon capitatus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Dichelostemma capitatum'', known by the common names blue dick ...

'', '' Clarkia'', '' Vicia'', '' Cirsium'' and '' Stachys'' species. The larvae feed on ''

Clarkia unguiculata ''Clarkia unguiculata'' is a species of wildflower known by the common name elegant clarkia or mountain garland. This plant is endemic to California, where it is found in many woodland habitats. Specifically it is common on the forest floor of man ...

''.

References

External links

*
"''Proserpinus clarkiae'' (Boisduval, 1852)"
''Sphingidae of the Americas''. Retrieved December 6, 2018. Proserpinus Moths of North America Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Moths described in 1852 Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval {{Macroglossini-stub