I have many favorite visitors to my naturalist garden. First and foremost are the ruby-throated hummingbirds. These flying jewels thrill me to no end. Next would be all the different kinds of butterflies—mourning cloaks, tiger swallowtails, monarchs, red admirals and viceroys. They flitter into my garden and my heart. But for sure “wow” power–the sphinx moth is the real garden showstopper.

Sphinx moth, also called the hawk moth or hummingbird moth, is a large moth that many gardeners confuse with hummingbirds. These daytime and evening flying moths have a 3-½ inch wing span, making them nearly as large as the ruby-throated hummingbird. But the similarities stop there.

There are about 100 species of sphinx moths in North America. One of the more common is called the White-lined Sphinx moth (Hyles lineata). This whirling moth has a buff-brown body (thorax and abdomen) with large pointed brown fore wings that are outlined with white strips, hence its common name. Its hind wings are mostly pink. It flaps its wings fast enough to make seeing the white strips very difficult. Some species of sphinx moths can flap their wings up to 85 beats per second and can fly up to 10 miles per hour. That might be slow for a hummingbird but very fast for a moth.

The white-lined sphinx moth has 6 white strips on its thorax (the body part where the wings attach). The abdomen (looks like the tail) has black and white spots separated by 3 pale pink lines.

An another common sphinx moth is the smaller Green-banded sphinx moth. It is about twice the size of a bumblebee and has 3 bright green bands around its abdomen. Some mistake these moths for “baby hummingbirds”.

Sphinx moths will hover at a flower for nectar just like a hummingbird. Its long straw-like mouth, called a proboscis, is usually coiled up under its head like a spring. It is so long that it is usually about as long as the moth’s entire body. When the moth approaches a flower it uncoils its proboscis and inserts it into the flower like a straw into a milkshake. It quickly sips the nectar and moves onto another flower.

These moths have large eyes to see flowers but lacks ears for hearing. One of the ways to tell the difference between a sphinx moth and a hummingbird is to use your ears. Hummingbirds make a loud humming noise when flying. That’s how they got their name! And the sphinx moth is silent.

Before any moth can fly is has to first go through a caterpillar stage. The caterpillar of the sphinx moth is very large. About 3 inches long and about as thick as your little finger. It is usually bright green with a large horn on its tail giving it a threatening appearance–although it is harmless. At this stage they are often called “hornworms”. When the caterpillar is disturbed it often rears up in a threatening posture with its head cocked reminding some people of the great Egyptian Sphinx. Which is how this moth got its common name.

Unlike other moths, the sphinx moth caterpillar doesn’t spin a silken cocoon to metamorphose, rather it burrows underground creating a protective earthen chamber. The underground chamber is also how they survive winter.

Sphinx moths are not picky and will try obtaining nectar from just about any flower. However there are a few flowers they seem to prefer. If you want to attract a sphinx moth to your garden, try planting any species of phlox, obedient plant, petunias, impatiens, or morning glory. Until next time…