So, I am complaining about Black Eastern Swallowtail eggs under my breath, and I hear "swoop....swooop" overhead. Landing on my trellis with jasmine, I though it was a bird. Nope. A moth with a wingspan easily 4" across. I caught a photo. Can someone ID this beast? Is he an evil beast, or friendly to my cats? I think he's a moth anyway.....
4elements, it's a rustic sphinx moth. They ARE big aren't they? And I think very beautiful!
They also make a pretty caterpillar that's colored in shades of green, blue, and purple. I don't have a picture of the caterpillar, which eats members of the madder family, mainly gardenia leaves, but I do have a picture of an adult. They love to nectar at night on moonflowers -
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/PucPuggy/RusticSphinxMoth.jpg
Sherry
