Small-eyed sphinx facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Small-eyed sphinx
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Paonias
Species:	P. myops
Binomial name
Paonias myops (J. E. Smith, 1797)
Script error: The function "autoWithCaption" does not exist.

Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".

The Paonias myops, also known as the small-eyed sphinx, is a type of moth. It belongs to the Sphingidae family, which includes many large moths. This moth was first officially named by James Edward Smith in 1797.

You can find the small-eyed sphinx moth in many parts of North America. It lives from southeastern Canada down to Florida. It also spreads westward almost to the Pacific Coast and is found in Mexico.

A Small-eyed sphinx moth resting.

The wings of this moth can spread out to about 52 to 69 millimeters wide. That's about the length of a few paperclips! Unlike some moths, adult small-eyed sphinx moths are mostly active at night. They start flying shortly after sunset and continue throughout the dark hours.

You can usually see adult moths flying from June to September in places like eastern Canada. In warmer areas like New Jersey, they might have two groups (or 'generations') of moths born each year. In very warm places like Louisiana, they can even have four generations!

Different Kinds of Small-Eyed Sphinx Moths

There are two main types, or subspecies, of the small-eyed sphinx moth:

• Paonias myops myops
• Paonias myops occidentalis (This type is found in Mexico.)

Images for kids

• 

  A male Paonias myops from above.

• 

  A male Paonias myops from below.

• 

  A female Paonias myops from above.

• 

  A female Paonias myops from below.