Carolina Sphinx Moth Discovered!

Carolina Sphinx Moth

A Carolina Sphinx Moth was finally identified as what we saw glowing red in our spotlights during the August Night Mammal Survey at the Refuge. Dozens of them were seen flying around over the agriculture fields.
A large moth, gray in color, with indistinct black lines and brown shading, it usually has six pairs of yellow spots on its abdomen. Of course, we didn’t see those at night – we only saw their red-glowing eyes as they zipped back and forth. The glow was so bright, I thought they were from a coyote, except it was way too high up.
You can find out more about this moth at: http://bugguide.net/node/view/3244
Photo and identification thanks to Kim Moore.