Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

1 June 2005   11:52PM EST  (top)
3 May 2006   10:58PM EST  (center)
14 May 2004   8:10PM EST  (bottom left)
13 May 2004   11:18PM EST  (bottom right)

Sphecodina abbottii, or Abbott's Sphinx, has a dark brown forewing with a lighter brown to tan median.  In some lighting conditions, the dark brown may have a grayish cast, as in the photo at bottom left.  The outer edge of the medial area swoops outward towards the middle of the outer margin with bands of tan and dark brown, then forms deep narrow zigzags to the costa, giving a somewhat streaky appearance to the wing.  The outer margin is somewhat scalloped, and there is sometimes a clearly defined gray-brown apical patch.  The hindwing is yellow, bordered in dark brown; stripes at the inner margin of the brown border align with the banding of the forewing when the wings are partly closed.  The thorax and abdomen are banded in dark purplish gray, black and brown.  The antennae are yellow.  Covell (1984) indicates a wingspan of 5.7 to 7.0 cm.

According to Handfield (1999), the larva of Sphecodina abbottii has been reported to feed on ampelopsis, grape, Virginia creeper and hawthorn.  For my general area, he gives an adult flight season from about mid-May to late June.

My records to date for Sphecodina abbottii (each date representing "the night of") are in the table below: