White-lined Sphinx Moth

The white-lined sphinx moth is a member of the family Sphingidae, the sphinx or hawkmoths, a group prized for their powerful, sustained flight and hovering feeding style that closely resembles that of hummingbirds. It is one of the most widespread and commonly encountered sphinx moths in North America, found from coast to coast in a huge range of habitats.

Because it flies during both dusk and daytime hours and hovers at flowers while feeding, it is frequently mistaken at a glance for a small hummingbird or a bumblebee, leading to its popular nickname. Its abundance and adaptability make it an important pollinator across many desert and garden plant species, particularly those with deep, tubular flowers suited to its long proboscis.

• Wingspan of roughly 65–90 mm; body is streamlined and torpedo-shaped, typical of sphinx moths.
• Forewings are olive-brown with a bold, pale tan to cream diagonal band running from the wing base to tip, bordered by darker lines.
• Hindwings are pink to rose-colored with black borders at the base and tip.
• Body bears white lines along the thorax and a series of black-and-white checkered markings along the abdomen sides.
• Distinguished from true hummingbirds by its antennae, six legs, and lack of feathers; distinguished from other sphinx moths by the strong pale diagonal forewing stripe.

Ranges across nearly all of North America, from Central America into southern Canada, occupying deserts, gardens, meadows, and disturbed open ground. Highly migratory and capable of rapid population buildups after rain in arid regions. Active at dusk, dawn, and sometimes throughout the day, especially in cooler or overcast conditions, with peak activity in warmer months.

Adults hover in place while feeding on nectar from a wide variety of flowers using their long proboscis, beating their wings rapidly enough to produce an audible hum, much like a hummingbird. They are strong, fast fliers capable of long-distance movement and are important pollinators, especially for evening-blooming and deep-throated flowers. Caterpillars feed on a broad range of plants including evening primrose, grape, and various weeds, and can occur in outbreak numbers following favorable rains in desert regions.

Eggs are laid singly on host plant leaves and hatch within days into caterpillars that vary widely in color from green to black, often bearing a posterior horn typical of sphinx moth larvae. Larvae feed voraciously through several instars before burrowing into soil to pupate in an underground chamber. Multiple generations occur per year in warm climates, with the species overwintering as a pupa in colder regions or persisting year-round in frost-free areas.