Proserpinus flavofasciata

Yellow-banded day sphinx
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Proserpinus
Species:	P. flavofasciata
Binomial name
Proserpinus flavofasciata (Walker, 1856)
Synonyms
Macroglossa flavofasciata Walker, 1856 Macroglossa ulalume Strecker, [1878] Lepisesia ulalume var. rachel Bruce, 1901

Proserpinus flavofasciata, the yellow-banded day sphinx, is a species of hawk moth which occurs at the edges of, and in clearings in, boreal and mountain forests across Canada, as far south as Maine and Massachusetts in the east and as far north as Alaska in the west. It is much commoner in the west of its range.

Description

The adult moth is a day-flying bumblebee mimic with a plump black body with yellow markings. The black forewings are marked with a pale band and the hindwings, also black, have a prominent yellow band. It flies in late spring and early summer.

The larva develops through several instars which are dramatically different in appearance. The penultimate instar is pale green with two pale stripes along the sides with a short horn at the tail end. The last instar is brown with black spots and no longer has a horn, just a white-edged black button.

• 
  dorsal
• 
  ventral

The larva feeds on various Epilobium and Rubus spp, such as Rubus parviflorus. The species overwinters as a pupa in the soil.

References

• Proserpinus flavofasciata at Encyclopedia of Life
• Sphinx Moths (Family Sphingidae) In British Columbia: Biological Notes and Field Key, Based on Specimens in the Collection at the Royal British Columbia Museum