Sphinx poecila (Taxonomy)
Synonymized with Sphinx gordius by Grote & Robinson, 1865, Proc. ent. Soc. Philad.5: 165; then with Agrius eremitus by Grote, 1875, Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci.2: 228. Reinstated as a species by Butler, 1876, Trans. zool. Soc. Lond.9: 617. Resynonymized with Gargantua gordius by Kirby, 1892, Synonymic Cat. Lepid. Heterocera1: 692. Reinstated as a species by Riotte, 1987, Great Lakes Ent.13: 115.
Similar to Sphinx gordius. Forewing upperside more uniformly grey than in Sphinx gordius, with markings less distinct; discal spot larger than in Sphinx gordius, elongate rather than round; unlike Sphinx gordius there is no distinct, dark marginal area. Hindwing upperside dark brown, rather than the blackish of Sphinx gordius, with the pale bands brownish-grey, lacking the yellowish tint of Sphinx gordius. 35-37 mm. 40 mm. Valve large, usually ellipsoid, not triangular as it is in Sphinx gordius.Harpe with dorsal part large, the apex usually bent ventrad; the basal part with straight or slightly rounded ventral margin, sometimes truncate.Aedeagus sigmoid distally, with a sharply pointed conical process.Vessica tripartite. Valves of ovipositor sub-rectangular in lateral view, not smoothly rounded as in Sphinx gordius. Antrum wider than in Sphinx gordius, with the right side straight, the left conspicuously angled, not smoothly tapered as in Sphinx gordius; sometimes twisted.Bursa copulatrix ovally rounded, not oblong as in Sphinx gordius.Signum shorter than in Sphinx gordius, with the 2 branches slightly divergent, not nearly parallel.