Sphinx kalmiae
Introduction '''''Sphinx kalmiae''''', the '''laurel sphinx''', is a moth of the  family Sphingidae.
Distribution It is found in the temperate parts of the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains, in the north it occurs west of the Rocky Mountains.
Description The wingspan is 75–103 mm.Sphinx kalmiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 145 Wakefield Canada male dorsal.jpg|Male dorsalSphinx kalmiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 145 Wakefield Canada male ventral.jpg|Male ventralSphinx kalmiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 145 Wakefield Canada female dorsal.jpg|Female dorsalSphinx kalmiae MHNT CUT 2010 0 145 Wakefield Canada female ventral.jpg|Female ventral
Biology In Canada, there is one generation per year with adults on wing in June and July. More to the south, there are two generations per year with adults on wing from late May to June and again from July to August. There may be as many as six generations in Louisiana.The larvae feed on ''Chionanthus'', ''Kalmia'', ''Syringa'' and ''Fraxinus'' species.
Taxonomy English entomologist James Edward Smith named this moth after Kalmia, the plant on which its caterpillar was first observed.
References
External links * Moths of North Dakota* Sphinx kalmiae, the Laurel Sphinx