Sphingidae
| Hawk moth | |||||||||||||
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 Hummingbird hawk moth 
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| Scientific classification | |||||||||||||
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| Author: | Latreille, 1802 | ||||||||||||
| Type species: | Sphinx ligustri (Privet Hawk-moth) | ||||||||||||
| Diversity: | 200 genera 1,200 species | ||||||||||||
| Subfamilies | |||||||||||||
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Macroglossinae Smerinthinae Sphinginae | |||||||||||||
Hawk moths are moths in the Sphingidae family. They are some of the fastest flying insects, capable of flying at over 30 miles per hour (50kph). They have a wingspan of 35-150 millimeters. Some hawk moths, like the hummingbird hawk moth, hover in midair while they feed on nectar from flowers and are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds, even in continents where hummingbirds are not found.
Hawk moth larvae are known as hornworms, because they have a "horn" at the posterior end. Large green tomato hornworms are a familiar sight to vegetable gardeners, usually noticed only after they have defoliated large amount of tomato leaves.
Lake Junaluska, North Carolina
| Arthropoda - Insecta - Families of Lepidoptera | |
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