Dolba is a monotypic moth genus in the family Sphingidae erected by Francis Walker in 1856. Its only species, Dolba hyloeus, the pawpaw sphinx, was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
Distribution
The pawpaw sphinx ranges throughout the eastern
United States and southeastern
Canada, south to
Florida and west to
Wisconsin, eastern
Oklahoma, and southern
Texas.
Description
The
wingspan is .
While the pawpaw sphinx's cryptic coloration appears similar to that of certain Noctuid moths, such as the members of genus
Catocala, the pawpaw sphinx's forewings do not overlap at rest, such that part of the abdomen remains exposed. The pawpaw sphinx can be distinguished from the
rustic sphinx (
Manduca rustica) by the former's smaller size and the absence of orange dots on the abdomen that the rustic sphinx exposes in flight.
Biology
Larvae of this species feed on
Asimina, as well as
blueberry and deciduous hollies such as
inkberry and
winterberry.
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