Life Cycle of the Sphinx Moth

Eggs

• Adult sphinx moths lay eggs, measuring just 1 mm across, in clusters on the underside of leaves. A female can lay up to 200 eggs.

Larvae

• When they are ready to hatch after three to five days, larvae chew their way out of the egg. The larvae, called caterpillars, are just a few millimeters long when they emerge.

Caterpillar

• Caterpillars grow quickly and eat voraciously, preferring the leaves of tomato, tobacco, potato and pepper plants. A single caterpillar can eat an entire plant in just one night. After about two weeks, the caterpillars leave their host plants and bury themselves under a few inches of soil or leaf cover.

Pupa

• Once buried, their skin begins to harden and the caterpillars become pupae. While a pupa, the caterpillar transforms into a moth over about three weeks.

Moth

• When the adult sphinx moths emerge from the pupae they have a wingspan of about 10 cm and are very strong fliers that can hover in the air. As adults the moths feed on flower nectar.