{"id":50868,"date":"2017-08-19T05:07:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-19T11:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=50868"},"modified":"2017-08-19T07:18:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-19T13:18:08","slug":"sphinx-moths-in-flight-at-the-bee-plant-patch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/19\/sphinx-moths-in-flight-at-the-bee-plant-patch\/","title":{"rendered":"Sphinx Moths In Flight At The Bee Plant Patch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sphinx moths are almost as much\u00a0fun (and\u00a0at least as challenging)\u00a0to photograph in flight as hummingbirds.<\/p>\n

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1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender<\/em><\/p>\n

While I was photographing hummingbirds two days ago at the patch of\u00a0Rocky Mountain Bee Plant\u00a0I had several opportunities with sphinx moths feeding on the nectar of the same flowers. I wasn’t able to get quite as close to them as I’d have preferred (these images\u00a0have been cropped significantly)\u00a0but I think I still got some interesting photos.\u00a0I\u00a0believe these are the White-lined Sphinx Moth, one of several varieties of sphinx moth. They’re also commonly called\u00a0“hummingbird moths” because their feeding and flight habits are very similar to those of hummers.<\/p>\n

Like\u00a0hummingbirds they hover over\u00a0flowers feeding on nectar but instead of using long bills\u00a0to get at it they use their very long proboscis. Here we see it still\u00a0partially\u00a0coiled up just before it was fully\u00a0extended into the flower.<\/p>\n

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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender<\/em><\/p>\n

A front view gives us\u00a0a different\u00a0perspective on their feeding behavior as one hovers over a flower cluster.<\/p>\n

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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender<\/em><\/p>\n

When it’s fully extended the proboscis is very long. Here we see only part of it – the rest disappears into the depths of a long\u00a0flower. I’ve seen some\u00a0apparently reliable references saying that their proboscis can be in excess of 10″ long.<\/p>\n

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\"\"1\/4000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender<\/em><\/p>\n

In this shot I enjoy seeing the bristles on the left antenna (if I squint a little…).<\/p>\n

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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender<\/em><\/p>\n

This species is actually quite colorful but much of that color is on the dorsal\u00a0surface of\u00a0their hindwings so you have to get just the right angle and wing position to see it well.<\/p>\n

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1\/5000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender<\/em><\/p>\n

Too bad the best look at that color is from behind…<\/p>\n

The larval caterpillars of the White-lined Sphinx Moth are quite large and served a useful purpose for some Native Americans for centuries. I always enjoy learning these little tidbits and I hope some of my readers do too (taken from the University of Wisconsin Master\u00a0Gardener Program<\/a>):<\/p>\n