I have not seen very many large moths over the years, but back in 1989, when I was on a birding tour to California, we stayed at a motel in Lone Pine.  Just before dusk, I saw what I thought were hummingbirds, but upon closer examination, they were actually the White-Lined Sphinx Moths in a feeding frenzy, hovering around some cultivated flowering plants around the motel perimeter. Then in May 2005, in Sun City, I saw and photographed this pretty moth among others.  I located them quite accidentally when I was walking my toy poodle at dusk.  They were difficult to photograph in the dark and they flew very quickly and were wary of me.

They are found throughout all of the North American desert regions and are commonly called hawk moths and/or hummingbird moths.  They are between 2-1/2 " to 3" long and are among the largest flying insects of the deserts with adult wingspans exceeding 5 inches.  Their wings are mainly brown.  A thin tan line runs from the base of the wing to its tip.  The forewing is olive brown in color, although the outer margin of the wing may be a bit lighter in shade.  The veins of the moth are accompanied by white streaks.  The hind wing is mainly a velvety black or dark brown color which is accented by a reddish pink color that fills in the middle of the wing.  The head is brown, and the thorax is also brown with 6 white stripes and a brown abdomen with paired dark spots on each segment.

These moths are basically nocturnal, though, since 2005, I have seen them feeding on Jimmy-weed during the day.  They have a keen sense of smell, and are easily attracted to night blooming flowers, such as the cereus cacti.  They have elongated proboscises to obtain the nectar, hovering alongside each flower and thus, able to feed effortlessly.  They also like the lantana, which is the flower shown in the picture above.  They are a very common sight in the southwest and one of the main pollinators of our desert flowers.  They also have an affinity toward primroses, petunias, orchids, sages, and tomato plants.

The white-lined sphinx moth female may lay as many as 1,000 eggs on the surface of her favorite host's leaves.  The eggs will hatch in a few days.  Their larvae pupate underground, then transform into adult moths when then dig their way out of the soil.  After reproducing, the male and female will soon die.  It seems a little odd, but we don't really know how long they live.