Hawk moth

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Hawk moths or sphinx moths are moths in the family Sphingidae.

Habits

They are some of the fastest flying insects, capable of flying at over 50 km/h (30 miles per hour). They have a wingspan of 35-150 mm. Some hawk moths, like the hummingbird hawk moth, hover in midair while they feed on nectar from flowers and are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds, even in continents where hummingbirds are not found.

Characteristics

Hawk moths have a very specialized proboscis that can be of considerable length. This proboscis allows one giant species of hawk moth to eat from Comet Orchids, a rare Malagasy flower with its nectar stored at the bottom of a 30 cm long tube, which is accessible to no other bird or pollinating insect. The Comet Orchid was first discovered by Aubert du Petit-Thouars, and Darwin famously predicted that there must be some specialised animal to feed from it, and while he was ridiculed, he was proved correct 21 years later when a particularly large and long-tongued hawk moth, Xanthopan morganii praedicta was described - the subspecific name "praedicta" commemorating Darwin's prediction.

Natural History

The larvae of most species of hawk moth have a "horn" at the posterior end. In consequence, in North America hawk moth caterpillars are often known as hornworms. Large green tomato hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) are a familiar sight to vegetable gardeners. usually noticed only after they have defoliated large amount of tomato leaves. Tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta) feed on tobacco leaves. The caterpillars usually enter the soil to pupate.

Taxonomy

There are around 1200 species of hawk moth, classified into around 200 genera. Some of the best known species are:

• Privet hawkmoth (Sphinx ligustri)
• Death's-head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos)
• Lime Hawk-moth (Mimas tiliae)
• Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi)
• Catalpa Sphinx (Ceratomia catalpae)
• Hummingbird hawk moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
• Elephant hawk moth (Deilephila elpenor)
• Vine hawk moth (Hippotion celerio)

For a complete species list of this family, see the Sphingidae species list.

Gallery

Image:Clearwing5239.JPG|Snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis), Lake Junaluska, North Carolina Image:Hawk moth caterpillar.jpg|Vine hawk moth larva (Hippotion celerio) Image:Hawkmoth2.jpg|Sphinx ligustri larva

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