Catalpa Sphinx moths peak as singing insects begin to appear

July 30, 2026Whitewater Interlobate Area

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(Ceratomia catalpae) have reached peak activity across the region, with eleven sightings logged from mid-June through late July, ranging from Metamora and Richmond out to Oxford and Trotwood. These are among the largest moths in the eastern United States, and their caterpillars are strict specialists: without trees, there is no Catalpa Sphinx. By midsummer the larvae can build up enough to strip a catalpa bare, but the trees are adapted to it and typically push out a second flush of leaves within weeks.

The singing insects, the katydids and crickets of the order Orthoptera, are also beginning to turn up. Single records of , , and have each been logged across the past eight days. Individually these are just presence records, but taken together they suggest the singers that mark the back half of summer are starting to emerge.

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More about northern catalpa

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