What’s with all the moths lately? We found a white-lined sphinx hummingbird moth enjoying the bee balm in our garden yesterday.

I think they’re gorgeous.

See the curled proboscis in this picture?

From butterfliesandmoths.org:

Caterpillar hosts: A great diversity of plants including willow weed (Epilobium), four o’clock (Mirabilis), apple (Malus), evening primrose (Oenothera), elm (Ulmus), grape (Vitis), tomato (Lycopersicon), purslane (Portulaca), and Fuschia.

Adult food: Nectar from a variety of flowers including columbines, larkspurs, petunia, honeysuckle, moonvine, bouncing bet, lilac, clovers, thistles, and Jimpson weed.

Habitat: A wide variety of open habitats including deserts, suburbs, and gardens.

Range: Central America north through Mexico and the West Indies to most of the United States and southern Canada. Also occurs in Eurasia and Africa.

Management needs: Occasional outbreaks of caterpillars have damaged tomatoes, grapes, and garden crops in Utah. (And at Morning Bray Farm.)