Nectaring Sphinx

[kevinkk]

Sphinx vashti feeding at my house. The moth, a worn male was captured Friday night and I released him the next evening, he flew off,then
returned to these flowers and I was able to take a number of pictures with the flash. I may have a female, I'm trying to get her to lay on
the Symphoricarpos. We brought home a female Hyalophora euryalus as well.

Vashti flight.JPG (88.6 KiB) Viewed 3827 times

the capture site

Breitenbush.JPG (75.62 KiB) Viewed 3827 times

[adamcotton]

The second photo is a view of high voltage pylons in a pine forest. Perhaps you mistakenly uploaded the wrong photo.

Adam.

[Chuck]

Great photo of the sphinx.

The valley with the pylons looks like every other valley with pylons, though I usually target those with deciduous trees. Except for the tree type, it looks the same as the place I was collecting Eurytides marcellus in KY a month ago.

[kevinkk]

The second photo is a view of high voltage pylons in a pine forest. Perhaps you mistakenly uploaded the wrong photo.

Adam.

Actually that's the location the moth was taken at, I could have been more clear about that, it's east of home about 125 miles,
I've spent a number of nights there with the UV light, basically a big gravel parking lot, there is an access road with a gate for
service vehicles, it's a good collecting spot, we also spotted some Papilio eurymedon and Papilio zeliacaon, a couple skipper species,
Parnassius clodius, I've taken Sulpurs there and polyphemus as well.
I think the open area makes a flyway for butterflies, as they will patrol the edges as they fly along, all I need to do is sit, wait and hope
I am facing the right direction to see them coming.
Breitenbush Hot Springs is just up the road another 10 miles or so.

[adamcotton]

Thanks for the interesting explanation. I can imagine that the open slope makes a good 'flight-path' towards the UV light for moths.

Adam.