This summer we've had some interesting interlopers on our porch. Charlie first noticed these amazingly enormous caterpillars that appeared to feast on the morning glory vines that wend their way around our porch railings in the summers. These fellas are huge..almost as big as Charlie's thumb, and certainly larger than mine. They caught our attention and our curiosity antennae perked up, so of course, we went to work trying to identify our porch guests. 
After some serious sleuthing (brown caterpillars are extraordinarily difficult to identify), we discovered we were harboring the youthful precursor of the pink spotted hawkmoth. The only way we were able to identify the darlings was by way of their dietary preference: Morning Glories. The Pink Spotted Hawkmoth is an enormous moth that is frequently mistaken for a hummingbird because of its darting vertical and lateral movements.
By an odd twist of luck, a few days later we happened to see one, AND I actually had my camera in my purse and was able to get some decent pictures. Additionally, I accidentally had my camera on video for a few seconds, so I actually got a quick shot of what their flying looks like. Enjoy!
I didn't know moths could be so beautiful - what pretty pink spots! I remember petting one of those fuzzy brown moths on the porch...
ReplyDeleteWow, good job on the video too!!! It really does flit around like a hummingbird!