Giant Grey Hawk Moth vs Little Carpenterworm

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Giant Grey Hawk Moth Little Carpenterworm
Scientific Name Agrius cingulata Prionoxystus macmurtrei
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Sphingidae Cossidae
Size 95-130 mm 25–45 mm wingspan
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Americas (from southern United States to Argentina), occasional migrant to Europe and Africa Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Giant Grey Hawk Moth

A massive hawk moth with gray-streaked forewings and a pink and black banded abdomen. It is one of the largest and fastest-flying sphinx moths in the Americas.

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Did You Know?

Agrius cingulata is such a powerful flier that individuals from the Americas occasionally cross the Atlantic Ocean and turn up in western Europe.

Little Carpenterworm

A smaller relative of the carpenterworm moth that bores into oaks and other hardwoods. Larvae create long tunnels through the sapwood and heartwood.

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Did You Know?

Its tunnels reduce the commercial value of lumber and provide entry points for wood-decay fungi.