Anyone else seen a hummingbird moth?

[BillM]

Sad story.
Made me start hatting authority figures in my young age.

I caught one of the large Sphinx moths when i was in 3rd grade and put it in a shoe box.
I did not know what kind of moth it was and took it to school and I asked a science teacher in the 6th grade what kind of moth it was and what were the little black things it left in the bottom of the box.

He said give me the box and I will figure it out and at the end of the day I will give you an answer.
Well the end of the day came and I asked him what kind of moth it was and he said what moth.

I said the one I gave you in the shoe box.
He said You did not give me a shoe box beat it kid.
I said yes i did this morning I gave you a box with a big moth in it and reminded him what he told me.

There were 2 other teachers standing there and he told me to scram and quit making up stories.

Broke my heart and made me angry at the same time.
I have seen many teachers pull stupid stunts and it makes me want to rip their heads off and crap down their necks.

That is all.

Might be a just cause for distrusting authority figures. I was pretty OK with teachers as authority figures until the 9th grade, when I developed a case of the *** at all of mine. Flunked all but one class that year. Got a D in Health 1H, Cali's first sex ed class. Mom & stepmom both got knocked up out of wedlock by my dad. Taught us what causes things like that. Then made it to 10th grade at a different and very much smaller school. Asked the Algebra teacher why I needed this algebra crap. His answer was "To graduate from high school." If he'd told me so I could become an astronaut, I'd have busted a hump... No talent for it, but I might have made it.

 

[XYZ]

Yes

 

[kingfish]

I see them fairly regularly around my place. First time I saw one I had no idea what it was.

 

[OKCHunter]

Kill it. The caterpillar stage is the Hornworm. Hornworms can destroy a tomato plant within a day or two.

 

[C_Hallbert]

I’ve seen hummingbird sphinx moths on Long Island, NY; Oklahoma and Alabama…..

 

[HiredHand]

Kill it. The caterpillar stage is the Hornworm. Hornworms can destroy a tomato plant within a day or two.

That’s why you plant the night flowering tobacco plants to attract the Hornworm caterpillars away from the tomato plants.

 

[Catt57]

I saw this while walking in the front door tonight after bringing the trash can back from the road. I walked right up to it at our front porch while it was enjoying our tobacco plant blooms. I thought it was a hummingbird at first, but there was something odd about it. It was dusk, and the light was from floodlights on our front porch. I've never seen one before.View attachment 421905

Have them all over out near Bristow. Side note: don't try to grow tomatoes out here.

 

[OKCHunter]

That’s why you plant the night flowering tobacco plants to attract the Hornworm caterpillars away from the tomato plants.

Had not heard that but might give it a try. I get satisfaction from grabbing them by the horn and slinging them into the fence.

 

[NomDeBoom]

I have a much more tragic tale to (not) relate- regarding a much larger & even more exoticly beautiful flying, scaled-wing, creature that drank nectar from my glass...(wine?) once upon a distant memory.
I'm not going to tell it, as details are sketchy after many decades....but suffice to say I was both the 'student' AND the 'teacher' as per Bill Ms tale. I regret being the 'teacher' at that Time (& always)....but in honor of the flying creature, I still endeavor to get along with 'most' of them. Many common flies & mosquitos still get violently squished- but most wasps, (& almost all spiders) are now my staunch allies.
DON'T harm (or eat) the Bugs. The pollinators feed us.
Let the rest eat Klaus Schwab & Co. !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Fredkrueger100]

I saw one for the first time last spring. I thought it was a hummingbird also. Was really cool. We have some flowers around our mailbox and that’s where it was.