mating moths. Hi there we live in Calgary Alberta Canada . This afternoon I found these two very large moths with there “tails” inside each other. I’m an Engineer and it only took a second to fiqure out what they were doing. They were in danger of meeting up with our dog so I carefully moved then to a shady corner. Never touched then or really disturbed them. They measure 70mm in length head to end I guess. I have never seen moths this big in my life .WOW ! Can you tell me what kind they are and if they are frequent in this area of North America. Just amazing.
Thanks.
Chris H. Calgary.
Hi Chris,
We didn’t recognize your Sphinx Moth species, so we contacted Eric Eaton. He quickly responded: “Actually, they ARE sphingids, the Great Ash Sphinx, Sphinx chersis to be exact. They are apparently uncommon according to Covell’s "Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Moths." Nice find! Eric”