Cute Moth with 2 Yellow Stripes – Nessus Sphinx Moth

Today in my garden, I saw a cute moth. Turns out it’s a Nessus Sphinx moth. It was very interesting to watch and I took several pictures. Although, these cute moths are very quick so the pictures are kinda hard to see.

The Nessus Sphinx moth has two yellow stripes on its tail. The stripes are an attempt at camouflage. The cute moth is trying to convince predators that it is a wasp.

Here’s a picture of moth. He was hanging out in some new phlow that I was getting ready to

plant. Well instead of planting, I watched the moth for the next 30 minutes or so.

Anyway, I got to thinking about moths. How long do they live? Why was he in my phlox?

Most moths life 12 months or so. That’s a pretty long life span for an insect. He was in my phlox because moths enjoy the nectar. In fact, just like bees moths are pollinators. As I’m sure our readers know, pollinators are critical for the life cycle on earth, along with the nutrient cycle.

Pollinators are a vital part of the life cycle on earth. Unfortunately, the are disappearing at an alarming rate. Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and all of the other cides are one of the major culprits. So, as a gardener, it’s important to use as little toxic chemicals as possible in your garden. And when you can, use biofertilizers to enhance your plants.

Biofertilizers, like Biota Max, can reduce the need for traditional fertilizers. They can also improve soil quality and reduce fertilizer runoff.

Cute Moth – Cute Moths

I guess it odd to think of moths as cute. I enjoy nature and watching the natural world.

So back to our cute moth and why he was on my phlox. Well we need an essay to completely cover the topic. We’ve answered how long do moths live and talked about cute moths.

The moths, of course, will lay eggs and the eggs will destroy or damage some plants. That’s just the way nature works. Once the moths are adults, much like butterflies, they do not eat any vegetation. They are looking for necare and the sugar that it contains. Sugar and where to lay their eggs is really all they have do to.

Picture of Moth

As we discovered, this cute moth is called a Nessus Sphinx moth. They are fast moving and love to go after nectar in plants like phlox.

Phlox is a ground cover that we are using in our garden. It comes in multiple colors like pink, purple and a multicolor phlox. I’m planting it on a sloping part of my yard. I’m hopeful that it will take over and grow throughout that part of the yard. I’ll post later about planting the phlox.

Look closely at the picture, you’ll see the picture of the Nessus Sphinx moth. As I said, they are very fast and have a tell tale two line stripe on their tail. Insects in general are wonderful to watch. They have three body parts and wings. That’s  the main components of insects.

Insect pictures are sometimes hard to take. I had a hard time taking the pictures of our cute moth. But next time I see a picture of moth, I will take it quick of the cute moths.

How long do moths live? We’ve decided about one year. I hope my cute moth lasts that long. I would like to see him among my phlox again in the near future so I can take some more picture and watch the moths go by.