So this morning I put my face against the window to look outside. I’m always curious to see what happened overnight, like did the raccoons neatly turn over pieces of the lawn again, did the deer eat my flowers, or is there anything dead floating in the pool. I didn’t see much because directly in front of my eyeball was this humungous, hairy, wierd, I don’t know what. I tapped on the screen but he didn’t move. I thought he was dead. I still don’t know if he’s alive. He let me put a tape measure right next to him for this photo and still didn’t move, although I think he eyeballed me once. “Take your stupid picture and go away!” As moths go I’ve never seen one this big – almost two inches! Moths? Maybe it’s a bird, or a flying gopher or something. I don’t know. That was hours ago and I checked and he’s still there. Dead? Playing dead? Waiting until I open the window so he can terrorize me in the house? He’s huge! I feel like if I tried to hit him with a fly swatter, he’s grab it and throw it back. What the heck is it???
UPDATE: Emmie’s right, it’s a White Lined Sphinx Moth and an ugly one at that. Here’s the even uglier caterpillar it comes from…
Hey, wait a minute! Isn’t that the bug that ate all my tomatoes??? (I hope this one makes it across the street before the bus runs him over!)
So here’s what we know: They are also known as Hummingbird Moths. Their wing span can range from 2 to 8 inches. They pollinate flowers such as orchids, petunias and evening primroses while sucking their nectar with a proboscis (feeding tube) that exceeds 10 inches in some species. They like garden crops, especially apples and tomatoes (no kidding!). Larvae burrow into soil to go into chrysallis, where they remain for 2–3 weeks. They change into adult moths underground and then dig their way to the surface. I know I’m going to have bad dreams tonight!
CANADA
CALIFORNIA
U.S.A.
We are lost.
