The Vault: Nessus Sphinx

At some point during next spring and summer, you might see a large, furry brown moth with two yellow bands on its abdomen and a tuft at the end. These unmistakable markings indicate that it's the Nessus Sphinx Moth (Amphion floridensis), a day-flying member of the family of Sphinx Moths, Sphingidae. I managed to catch a few shots of one a few years back, as it was drinking nectar from some Phlox, which is one of the plants from which adults prefer to feed:

Aren't those markings beautiful?

Look at that long proboscis, hungrily extruded.

You can see its furry antennae in this photo, as well as the proboscis.

Sometimes you gotta stick your whole head in there to slurp up that last drop of nectar!

References:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/3131
http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=7873
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Amphion-floridensis
You can see photos of the larval and pupal stages at the sites above.