Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 2, 2015. White Lined Sphinx Moths have bodies the size of my thumb, and are known as hawk moths and hummingbird moths (they do hover like hummingbirds). (Click on photo to enlarge.)
I was walking through my neighbor's dining room Friday night when I noticed the giant moth near the ceiling. Wingtip to wingtip it was 4" across in this pose. I had to grab my camera and shoot some photos before allowing the neighbor to scoop up the really beautiful moth in a plastic container before releasing it off the back deck into the wilds of Corralitas.
We've seen these significant moths before, usually resting in or around one of the homes on the east facing side of Corralitas Drive.