2020 June 5 afternoon

 

   No more photos at press time, but, writes Jeremy Tatum, I have to report that this afternoon I closely watched an adult White-lined Hawk Moth  Hyles lineata flying to and fro for about a couple of minutes at Panama Flats.  All butterflies and moths are exciting, but hawk moths have a special magic about them – they are very exciting!

 

   This moth is sometimes called the “White-lined Sphinx”.  It is a member of the Family Sphingidae, so I suppose it could be called the “White-lined Sphingid”.  But it is not in the genus Sphinx, so that to call it a “Sphinx” is not just misleading – it is plain wrong.  Best not to try and mix English and scientific names, but to call it either by the totally English name “White-lined Hawk Moth”, or else the totally scientific name Hyles lineata.

 

  I still haven’t seen any swallowtail butterfly.