Subject: Strange Large Moth
Geographic location of the bug: Whitehouse, Texas (Near Tyler)
Date: 06/04/2019
Time: 04:10 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: This moth hangs around a flowering tree in our back yard along with lots of bumblebees. The blooms are blue and very fragrant. To us, it seems the moth’s coloration kind of memics a bumblebee perhaps as protection from predators.
How you want your letter signed: Bob & Elaine Jackson
Dear Bob & Elaine,
This is a diurnal Sphinx Moth in the family Sphingidae, and many members of this family that fly during the day are confused with hummingbirds because of their method of hovering while feeding. Your Moth is a Nessus Sphinx, Amphion floridensis. According to Sphingidae of the Americas: ” The adult Nessus sphinx, which flies during the day and at dusk, has two bright yellow bands on the tufted abdomen. At rest, dark red-brown upperwings hide the red-orange median band and yellow spot of the hindwings.”