Isoparce cupressi

Description

Isoparce cupressi, the baldcypress sphinx or cypress sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in cypress swamps in from Maryland to Texas. It has been reported from Mexico. The wingspan is 60–65 mm. The upperside of the forewing is gray with two longitudinal broken black dashes. The lower dash, with a patch of orange brown above it, is thicker and is located near the anal angle. The upper broken dash is near the apex. The upperside of the hindwing is dark gray. The outer wing fringes are checkered with white to yellowish gray and black. There are at least four generations per year in Louisiana with adults on wing from February to October. The larvae feed on the needles of Taxodium distichum (bald cypress). Pupation takes place in a shallow underground burrow where the second generation overwinters.