Mournful Sphinx

Mournful Sphinx

Enyo lugubris

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Orlando

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

27 Verified sightings at Orlando
46 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
October 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 Orlando?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mournful Sphinx sighting in Orlando on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 74th most-seen of the 294 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

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

July and September–January

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mournful Sphinx in Orlando on a given day, against under 5% in February–June and August, 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 Orlando the best place to see a Mournful Sphinx?

Among the best

Of the 6 cities where we can rate Mournful Sphinx sightings, Orlando ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, about 10%) and Houston (United States, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Mournful Sphinx live in Orlando?

Same family: Sphingidae

The closest relatives of the Mournful Sphinx that you can see in Orlando (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Banded Sphinx (about 10%) and Tersa 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 Orlando (27 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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