Kauaʻi record · KCA-IA-00258
Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kauai
Tinostoma smaragditis
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About Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kauai
Tinostoma smaragditis is the distinctive green sphinx moth known only from Kauaʻi.
Natural history and identification
Tinostoma smaragditis is the distinctive green sphinx moth known only from Kauaʻi. The 2025 state account associates its collections with diverse mesic forest around Kōkeʻe and Kalalau and reports the most recent sighting known to that assessment as 2000. Its caterpillar food plant remains unknown: larvae obtained from eggs laid by a captured female did not accept the plants offered. Identifying that host is a major conservation gap. The sighting date is the assessment’s historical statement, not a declaration of extinction.
Kauaʻi occurrence and evidence
Atlas occurrence category: Present. USFWS recognizes Tinostoma smaragditis as the Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kauai; current taxonomic standing valid.
Evidence limits
The cited observations describe the evidence currently available for this account. They do not establish a complete life history or a measured current Kauaʻi population trend.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Tinostoma smaragditis
- Common names
- Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kauai
- Family
- Sphingidae
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Record type
- species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Present
- Origin
- Endemic — Kauaʻi
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal description
- Tinostoma smaragditis is the distinctive green sphinx moth known only from Kauaʻi.