Fast Fiction

I was working the front yard, weeding, because people are coming over tomorrow.

I found a moth. It was a huge moth, struggling in the tall alstroemeria. So I pulled it out, and it was huge. About two and a half inches long with a huge plump furry body. Its wingspan was at least 3 and a half inches, maybe four. It didn’t seem to want to leave my hand, but I cajoled it onto the Japanese maple.

Of course once I took its picture, I had to find out what it was. I found this:

It’s a hawkmoth. Probably a white-lined sphinx since its range and preferred food fits, but it could also be banded sphinx  or maybe the spurge hawkmoth. The adults feed on nectar. The can look like hummingbirds when they hover in front of a flower.

click on the photo for a larger version