Can you identify this guy

[chills]

i thought it is a butterfly, my husband thinks its a moth .. anyone know what it is, i'd like to gather some info on him.
thanks!

 

[digitS']

Off-hand, I'll say it is a tussock moth.

Maybe of a "western" persuasion. . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_tussock_moth

Steve

 

[Carol Dee]

At 1st I thought it was a hawk moth. Looking at a feild guide I think it might be this one, The American Dager Moth.?!?!

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[vfem]

Could be one of the many humming bird moths. The wings can look similar to several species. If there are spotting or strips on the body under the wings you'll know. Usually its grey and orange. If the body is only grey and black to match the wings probably the American dager moth Carol mentioned. Did you see any colored markings on the body?

 

[vfem]

Here's a good picture and a site where you can see some similarities. Our yard is filled with these in the evening since we have night blooming plants.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thunt77/2891289458/

 

[BarredBuff]

It looks like a moth to me.........

 

[chills]

YES! wow, thanks so much. based on my research im going with Five-Spotted Hawkmoth. this guy totally had the orange and black stripes on his body under his wings. based on wiki i dont think he is a good guy, tomato hornworms eat holes in my ripe tomatoes right? my friend the moth has since moved on, would you have killed him or ignored him? he was bigger than my flip flop bottom, i wasnt going to get close enough!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manduca_quinquemaculata

thanks for starting my research.

 

[Ridgerunner]

tomato hornworms eat holes in my ripe tomatoes right?

I'm not going to try to identify the moth, but tomato hornworms do not eat the ripe tomatoes. They eat the green leaves. A tomato hornworm can do serious destruction to the green vegetation on the plant. The damage they do and their dropping smake them pretty easy to recognize once they get to a certain size. Finding them when they are babies is the challenge.

They look vicious but they will not hurt you. Hand-picking is the best control as far as I am concerned.