Mournful Sphinx

Mournful Sphinx

Enyo lugubris

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Austin

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

18 Verified sightings at Austin
46 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Mournful Sphinx

Enyo lugubris, the mournful sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found from Argentina and Paraguay to Uruguay, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and the West Indies through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to Mexico and the United States, where it has been recorded from Arizona east to Florida and north to South Carolina. Strays have been recorded from Arkansas, north to Illinois, Michigan and New York.

The wingspan is 50–60 mm. Adults are on wing year-round in the tropics (including southern Florida and Louisiana). Further north, they are on wing from August to November. The larvae probably feed on Vitus tiliifolia and other Vitaceae species, such as Vitis, Cissus and Ampelopsis. In Florida larvae have been reported on Cissus sicyoides and Ampelopsis arborea. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brownsberg Nature Park 🇸🇷 Suriname
~30%
2 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
3 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
4 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 Houston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Orlando 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
6 Austin 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mournful Sphinx in Austin?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mournful Sphinx sighting in Austin on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 873rd most-seen of the 1624 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mournful Sphinx in Austin?

August and October

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mournful Sphinx in Austin on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–July, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Mournful Sphinx?

Between 6 and 9 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mournful Sphinx sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Austin the best place to see a Mournful Sphinx?

6th of 6

Of the 6 cities where we can rate Mournful Sphinx sightings, Austin ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, about 10%), Houston (United States, about 10%) and Orlando (United States, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Mournful Sphinx live in Austin?

Same family: Sphingidae

The closest relatives of the Mournful Sphinx that you can see in Austin (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are White-Lined Sphinx (about 20%), Walnut Sphinx (about 10%) and Vine Sphinx (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Mournful Sphinx sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mournful Sphinx is recorded against all the insects logged in Austin (18 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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