Biology:Smerinthus jamaicensis

Twin-spotted sphinx
	Smerinthus jamaicensis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Smerinthus
Species:	S. jamaicensis
Binomial name
	Smerinthus jamaicensis; (Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
	Smerinthus jamaicensis clarkii Sphinx jamaicensis; Drury, 1773 Say, 1824 ; Franck, 1913 Smerinthus jamaicensis flavitincta; Calasymbolus jamaicensis tripartitus (Nixon, 1912) ; Smerinthus geminatus (Grote, 1886) ; Cockerell, 1925 Smerinthus jamaicensis gamma;

Short description: Species of moth

Smerinthus jamaicensis, the twin-spotted sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.^[2]

Description

It has a wingspan of 1 ³⁄₄–3 ¹⁄₄ inches (4.5–8.3 cm), with the outer margins of the forewings unevenly scalloped, but with the coastal margin of the hindwings being almost straight. Males have gray with black and white markings on their forewings, while females are yellowish brown with dark brown and white markings.

Both sexes have red hindwings with a pale yellow border. Sometimes a blue patch may appear as a single eyespot or it may be divided by black bands, creating two or three eyespots. Adult moths are nocturnal, but seem to prefer the earlier part hours of the night.