Joel caught Ethan a White-lined Sphinx "hummingbird" moth. Luci noticed these when she was here. They look like little miniature hummingbirds when they are moving but when they are not moving they look just like a moth. (Mom, Ethan loves his cars water bottle. He carries it around everywhere)
This is Ethan's White-lined Sphinx. We didn't keep it long before we let it go. It was neat to get a close up look though.
What I found on-line: This is a moth species commonly called "hummingbird"," "sphinx," or "hawk" moths.
The Sphingidae are strong fliers, with a rapid wingbeat. Most are medium to large moths, with heavy bodies; wingspread reaches 5 inches or more in some species. Although a few are active in the daytime, most species in the group are active at dusk. Most, but not all, sphingids feed much like hummingbirds, hovering in front of a flower and sipping nectar through the extended proboscis. The proboscis rolls up like a party noisemaker when not in use, and may not be readily evident in a resting moth.
(this one fed like a hummingbird and had a proboscis).
Cool! Our kids would be so excited to share this moth with him! They've got about 500,000 bugs in various jars and containers out on the back porch ... and probably some hidden inside that I don't know about. They caught several moths recently which laid eggs that hatched into itty bitty caterpillars. That's when they all went outside. They had been living comfortably on my kitchen counter but I didn't need 250,000 little escapees in the room that I make FOOD. I'm rambling.
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