hawk moth
noun
Forms hawk moths hawk-moth hawkmoth
- noun Any moth of the family Sphingidae.
Synonyms
Webster’s 1913
- Any moth of the family Sphingidæ, of which there are numerous genera and species. They are large, handsome moths, which fly mostly at twilight and hover about flowers like a humming bird, sucking the honey by means of a long, slender proboscis. The larvæ are large, hairless caterpillars ornamented with green and other bright colors, and often with a caudal spine. See Sphinx, also Tobacco worm, and Tomato worm. Tobacco Hawk Moth (Macrosila Carolina), and its Larva, the Tobacco Worm.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hawk moth”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details