kzoebel's Journal

The best that I can tell we have six species of Sphex wasps in Alabama: Sphex dorsalis, Sphex flavovestitus, Sphex habenus, Sphex ichneumoneus, Sphex nudus, and Sphex pensylvanicus. There are a number of differences not listed here, and this isn't a complete key. I just needed a quick and dirty reference to tell the difference between the species. PLEASE let me know if you spot any errors, or if the key doesn't work properly or feels clunky.

1a. Solid black ....................................................................................................................................2
1b. Bi-colored ....................................................................................................................................3

2a. Black pubescence......................................................................................Sphex pensylvanicus
2b. Gold pubescence.................................................................................Sphex habenus (female)
2c. Yellowish-silver pubescence ..................................................................Sphex dorsalis (male)

3a. Solid red abdomen .......................................................Sphex habenus (male, rarely female)
3b. Solid black abdomen ..................................................................................................................4
3c. Bi-colored abdomen ...................................................................................................................5

4a. Silver (to straw colored) pubescence; bright orange tibiae...........................Sphex nudus
4b. Orange (to gold) pubescence...................................................................Sphex flavovestitus

5a. Abdomen red anteriorly, solid black posteriorly ............................. Sphex ichneumoneus
5b. Abdomen red anteriorly, black posteriorly with red tip ............. Sphex dorsalis (female)

Range: All six are found state-wide with varying frequency.

Sphex dorsalis: Seems to be found predominantly south of Montgomery, most common along the coastline of the southeast. One observation in Huntsville.
Sphex nudus: Most commonly found in the northern half of the state, not very common along the coastline, seems to prefer more interior habitats.

The other four (S. flavovestitus, S. habenus, S. ichneumoneus, and S. pensylvanicus) are found statewide with seeming equal distribution.

Very quick and rough ID info gathered from multiple sites. Not positive of the accuracy.

Anisota senatoria : Possible species complex of A. senatoria, A. peigleri, and A. finlaysoni
Adults are very orange, have black wing spots.. Males have a circular transparent area on wings, hyaline area seems more extensive up north, A. peigleri in the southeast has very little hyaline area. Season: late June to August.

Anisota stigma: Yellow-brown, orange-brown, to reddish orange opaque wings, pink tint past the postmedial line, faint postmedian lines and scattered black specks on both wings, small white spot on forewing. Males are redder than females. Season: July-August in the south. *Only night flying male attracted to lights. All other species' males are day flying. I noticed while annotating several dozen observations with a number of obs with mating pairs that the male and female are very similar in size and coloration. Males are just a hair smaller and I probably couldn't tell them apart if shown by themselves.

Anisota virginiensis: Female's wings are purplish red with ochre-yellow, and purplish margin of wings, obvious on forewing in living specimens, no spotting. Male's wings are purplish brown with a large transparent space in the middle and no spotting. Range is south down to North Carolina. Season: Two flights in mid-range: late July-early September.

Anisota pellucida Same as A. virginiensis with the exception of range and season. Range: SE below North Carolina. Three flights possible in south. Apparently the only Anisota species with a spring flight.

I never would have thought I would reach 5K so quickly! This app has brought me so much joy, here's to 10K!!!