On June 14, while sitting in my screened room in Millbrook, this moth plummeted down from the heavens and landed on the table beside me. I have no idea where he came from. Perhaps he was sleeping along the rafter and fell(?) I thought he was dead. After looking at him for about 10 minutes I lifted him up onto a piece of cardboard. He held on to the edges of the board. I went outside and he eventually walked/flew over to the screen, climbed up a few inches and stayed there for several hours. At dark I went out to see him and he was gone.
He was about 3 inches long, and his head and back looked almost like fur! Do you have any idea what this is?
Bev Hawkins
Note: Basil Conlin, a local moth expert, has identified it as a Laurel Sphinx (Sphinx kalmiae). “This species loves to feed on ash and lilac as a caterpillar and will nectar at deep flowers as an adult. They are lovely! As far as I know they do not fly during the day. I usually find the adults at lights in two batches: first right at dusk, then again after midnight.”
Laurel Sphinx (Sphinx kalmiae) June 14, 2017 – Millbrook – Bev Hawkins
