Gallium Sphinx Moth
Rosie spotted this big sphinx moth on the wall of the local McDonalds on July 9, 2017. I didn’t have either of my dedicated cameras with me at the time, but for a moth this large (its body was nearly the length of my thumb), my phone camera was pretty sufficient.
Going through the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Notheastern North America, the best match is the Gallium Sphinx, Hyles gallii. The markings on the back of the wings, the reddish-pink underwings, and the stark white lines on either side of the head and thorax, are a perfect match.
It was a very chunky moth, and the large thorax suggests that it is a strong flier. I expect that it is one of the sphinx moths that is frequently mistaken for a hummingbird (which is pretty close to the same size).
Here is a closer shot of the head, so we can see the eyes. Unfortunately, the leg is blocking our view of whether it has a long tongue or not.
Judging from the pictures on BugGuide, the caterpillars come in a variety of colors ranging from black to green. The caterpillars eat plants in the Evening Primrose family. I think I’ve seen Common
Evening Primrose growing around the place, I’ll have to see if I can track some down for pictures.
Anyway, the Wikipedia page for these moths shows a picture of one of them feeding from a flower, so they evidently are one of the species that flits around competing with the hummingbirds. Sphinx moths usually only fly at dusk, though, while the hummingbirds mostly fly during the day. They may very well be coming to our hummingbird feeder without our noticing, due to coming around in the dark.
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What a gorgeous creature!
Uh oh. It looks like we’ve run out of bugs.
🙁