Sphinx Moths of 2007

FULL VIEW PLEASE!
One of the first things I noticed when I moved to my new house was that there were Four O'Clock bushes growing every where. Four O'clocks get their names because the flowers open in the evening after four PM. They can also open on cloudy or rainy days early. It's a nocturnal flower with a wonderful scent that attracts night time pollinators, namely sphinx moths.

I've never been a fan of butterflies but I adore sphinx moths because they look like little hummingbirds. They don't fly like butterflies either, they can hover and are pretty big. They have long a long probosis (tongue) for reaching into trumpet shaped flowers. Some as you will see are amzingly long.

I loved handfeeding them with the hummingbird feeder. They just drink and drink until they are so full they can't fly and have to land. They really get drunk off the nectar. With each flower they only get a few drops but with the feeder they aren't used to bottomless drinks. It's so fun and you can walk while they hover in place. They have amazing precision controls.

The species in this video are
The Five spotted Hawkmoth - Manduca quinquemaculata
Banded Sphinx Moth - Eumorpha fasciatus
pink spotted hawkmoth - Agrius cingulata

Note that the Five Spotted is the infamous Tobacco Hornworm caterpillar that eats tomatoes and peppers. To me these have never been pests and I welcome them in my vegetable garden. I set tomato plants aside just for them. I think the caterpillars are beautiful too and if you let them they become an important and much needed nocturnal pollinator.

Plus they are big and extremely cute. I haven't seen any moths yet but I hope they'll come back from the winter soon. My Four O'Clocks are back and waiting for them..

Thank you for the nice comments. Have moved to new account Thagirion9
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-Des-

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• sphinx
• moths
• banded
• five
• spotted
• hawkmoth
• pink