sphinx moth

American  

noun

1. hawk moth.

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sphinx moth British  

noun

1. another name for the hawk moth

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Etymology

Origin of sphinx moth

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

It was Alena Kopshever’s first time encountering a white-lined sphinx moth.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2023

“Unless this is a sphinx moth caterpillar who has been stressed and agitated into displaying its osmeterium,” says Jackson.

From National Geographic • Dec. 28, 2017

But I doubt you’ve heard of any World Wildlife Fund campaigns to protect the fabulous green sphinx moth, right?

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2017

Yet the adult, the Carolina sphinx moth, is the plant's preferred pollinator.

From Nature • Feb. 28, 2017

The bird was the famous Archaeopteryx, found in the Solenhofen slate, and the first butterfly, to use an Irishism, was a moth, a sphinx moth, apparently about the size of the Convolvulus sphinx moth.

From The Naturalist on the Thames by Cornish, C. J. (Charles John)