|scientific name Proserpinus flavofasciata |
common name Yellow-banded Day Sphinx
Clearings, edges and openings in boreal and mountain forests.
Adults are on the wing in Alberta in late spring and early summer (May to early July).
A small dark heavy-bodied day-flying moth with yellow and black hindwings. The forewings are black with a broad pale semi-translucent stripe across the outer half. The hindwings are black with a broad yellow band and a black border. Head and thorax yellow, abdomen black with two small light patches at the end. Unmistakable.
The adults fly in spring, when fruit trees and lilacs are in bloom. They are diurnal and visit flowers for nectar. There is a single brood which overwinters as pupae in the soil.
A widespread species, rarely collected due to the behaviour and remote habitat.
No Alberta data; elsewhere reported to use fireweed (Epilobium) and Rubus sp. as hosts. Adults nectar at flowers including lilac, apples, cherry, saskatoon, dandelion and Labrador tea.
From the east coast (Maine and Massachusetts) west across the Boreal forest and in the mountains to southern Vancouver Island. In Alberta, it has been taken as far south as Edmonton and Nordegg and north to Zama City.
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