Euproserpinus euterpe

Distribution is apparently restricted to two locations in California: a privately owned ranch in the Walker Basin, Kern County and the Carrizo Plain National Monument, San Luis Obispo County. The Walker Basin is an agricultural region, primarily growing cereals and cattle. The moth is found in disturbed areas in association with its larval and adult food plants. More specifically, the moth favors the banks of sandy washes, in which the sand has the proper compaction and moisture content for burrowing larvae. It can apparently also use other disturbed areas including road shoulders and abandoned agricultural fields. The population in the Carrizo Plain National Monument was discovered in 2002 and is being managed by the Bureau of Land Management. ==Conservation status==

It once was believed that Erodium was a serious threat to the sphinx moth because of larval mortality after eggs were mistakenly deposited on this plant. However, emerging research shows that female moths deposit eggs on plants indiscriminately, and the larvae wander to find a suitable host. Erodium is never fed upon. Until 1974 the species was considered to be extinct, at which time a surviving population was found in the eponymous Kern County. Sphinx moths are valuable to insect collectors, who may pose a threat to these small populations. Pesticide or herbicide application could also endanger the moth. But the greatest threat is likely habitat loss and alteration. This species is extremely rare and in most years field surveys of the Walker Basin population have found few or no individuals. However, desert Lepidoptera often show great natural variations in population size in response to climatic conditions, and surveys may more accurately reflect population status in years with above-normal rainfall. ==Notes==