The sphinx moth genus Hyles comprises 29 described species inhabiting all continents except Antarctica. The genus diverged relatively recently (40 – 25 mya), arising in the Americas and rapidly establishing a cosmopolitan distribution. The whitelined sphinx moth, Hyles lineata, represents the oldest extant lineage of this group and is one of the most widespread and abundant sphinx moths in North America. Hyles lineata exhibits the large body size and adept flight control characteristic of the sphinx moth family (Sphingidae), but is unique in displaying extreme larval color variation and broad host plant use. These traits, in combination with its broad distribution and high relative abundance within its range, have made H. lineata a strong model organism for studying phenotypic plasticity, plant-herbivore interactions, physiological ecology, and flight control. Despite being one of the most well-studied sphinx moths, little data exists on genetic variation or regulation of gene expression. Here we report a high-quality draft genome showing high contiguity (N50 of 14.2 Mb) and completeness (98.2% of Lepidoptera BUSCO genes), an important first characterization to facilitate such studies. We also annotate the core melanin synthesis pathway genes and confirm that they have high sequence conservation with other moths and are most similar to those of another, well-characterized sphinx moth, the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta).

These data were collected as part of the assembly and structural annotation of the whitelined sphinx moth, Hyles lineata, genome (NCBI BioProject PRJNA944629). The readme.md file describes all of the files included here. DNA for this study was isolated from a male pupal Hyles lineata and sequenced using a PacBio Sequel IIe at the University of Florida ICBR facility (RRID: SCR_019152). The genome was assembled using HiFiasm (RRID:SCR_021069). Structural annotation was performed using BRAKER 2 with RNA-seq data from an adult female, an adult male, and a late-instar larvae. Melanin synthesis pathway genes were identified from the structural annotation using sequences from the domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori) and compared with putative homologs from another sphinx moth, the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta), and two more distantly related moths: the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and the striped rice stemborer (Chilo suppressalis), along with B. mori (used to identify sequences) and the well-characterized vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster).