Banded Sphinx

Banded Sphinx

Eumorpha fasciatus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Palo Verde National Park

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

16 Verified sightings at Palo Verde National Park From 2019 to 2026
68 In all 6 parks
March Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Banded Sphinx

Eumorpha fasciatus, the banded sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Johann Heinrich Sulzer in 1776. It is found from northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, north through Central America (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) to southern California and southern Arizona, east to Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina. Strays can be found north up to Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Nova Scotia. It is also found in the Caribbean.

Adults are on wing year round in the tropics, but in the north, there are at least two generations with adults on wing from the end of May to July and the end of August to October in South Carolina and from May to October in Louisiana. Adults have been recorded feeding on nectar of Crinum, Catharanthus roseus, Petunia and Saponaria officinalis.

The larvae feed on Ludwigia (including L. decurrens, L. erecta, L. leptocarpa, L. octovalvis, L. peruviana and L. repens), Cissus verticillata, Fuchsia hybrida, Magnolia virginiana, Parthenocissus... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
2 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
3 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
5 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
6 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 São Luís 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 Rosario 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
3 Asuncion 🇵🇾 Paraguay
~10%
4 Quito 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
5 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
~10%
6 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
7 Orlando 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Houston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Bogota 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
10 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Banded Sphinx in Palo Verde National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Sphinx sighting in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 30 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Banded Sphinx in Palo Verde National Park?

January and March

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Sphinx in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and May–September, the lowest months. Those are among Palo Verde National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 480 mm in October.

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

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Banded Sphinx sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Palo Verde National Park the best place to see a Banded Sphinx?

Yes

Of the 6 parks where we can rate Banded Sphinx sightings, Palo Verde National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Everglades National Park (United States, about 10%).

Where does the Banded Sphinx sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Banded Sphinx is recorded against all the insects logged in Palo Verde National Park (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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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