Sphinx Moth and More

The Sphinx Moth is one part of a life cycle that gives rise to what is known casually as a “tomato horn worm” (not a worm at all). But the critter referred to as such can destroy not only tomatoes, but other plants such as datura, in a very short period of time. The moth phase is the beautiful portion of that life cycle, IMHO (some entomologists might disagree 😉 ).

Recently, as I was picking some cherry tomatoes, I thought to myself how wonderful this year was in that I had not seen destructive activity on my tomatoes, pepper, or datura. Walking into the house with my harvest, what did I see? A sphinx moth! The moth is quite attractive, but spells trouble down the road for my tomatoes.

Sphinx Moth

Of course, I had to photograph it. But, as I did, I noticed a very tiny moth on the stucco as well.

Sphinx moth and another tiny moth

Time to get up close and personal.

Very small moth

I do not know the name of this small moth. I think its pattern is quite attractive, although not as complex as the sphinx moth.

The appearance of the sphinx moth has officially put me on notice to carefully watch the tomato, pepper, and datura for the appearance of the destructive “hornworms.” The beauty of the moth phase, however, cannot be denied.