Diane Winkler was hiking with her wife about a week ago at Point Reyes National Seashore when she spotted something that drew her up short. “Along the Abbotts Lagoon Trail, we got to a boardwalk where ...

Readers have sent photographs of small critters hovering over flowers, as if they were sipping nectar like hummingbirds. But they’re not hummingbirds. Instead, they are insects variously called sphinx ...

Moth Week is a perfect time to talk about the insects' impact on the garden. A most detested caterpillar foe to our tomatoes, the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta), becomes a lovely hawk moth in its ...

You know that old saying in journalism: Write about giant, weird bugs once, and your inbox forevermore will brim with photos of giant, weird bugs. It’s been two weeks since we covered the appearance ...

One night this past week I was sitting in the hot shade of the deck watching for hummingbird activity. Every so often one or two would either come to the flowers and feeders or chase each other around ...

For decades scientists have thought that the giant sphinx moth was the only pollinator for the treasured ghost orchid, an Everglades air plant so in demand that it was almost harvested into extinction ...

Q: A couple of evenings ago, we were sitting on the back porch with well-deserved glasses of iced tea. We were looking at the neighbor’s desert willow tree and saw hummingbirds flitting all around. It ...

When Paul Johnson, moth aficionado and researcher, was asked why he was interested in the Pacific green sphinx he shot back, “Why are you interested?” He chuckled as there was no immediate answer ...

If you are lucky, you might spot one or both of the moths featured here in natural areas close to Santa Barbara. By planting suitable native plants, you may be able to attract these beauties to your ...

Plant Alamo vine, Old Man’s Beard and cow itch vine to draw sphinx moths and butterflies to trellises and arbors in West ...

Moths typically get a bad rap. Their young have voracious appetites and are targeted for eradication because they eat our lawns and vegetable crops. But there are some that are actually pretty and may ...