What Are These Big Flying Bugs Terrorizing El Paso?

You’ve probably seen them darting around your garden, or maybe one of them whizzed past your face in a flash as you passed a lantana bush.

They are big and scary and have scared countless people in El Paso over the past few weeks. So what are they and are they destroying your plants and shrubs?

They’re not birds, so what are they?

It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s a… moth? Yes, a moth.

I’ve dabbled a bit on the subject and this is what I found out. They are called hummingbird moths. And, no, not because a horny hummingbird drunk on sugar water swerved a willing month.

They are so named because they look, behave, make sounds, and feed much like the bird they are named after. A key difference between them is that they don’t have a pointed beak like a hummingbird.

Her sucking mouthpart is soft and puckered and, frankly, creepy. Watch it in slow motion in the video my colleague Emily referred me to and tell me it doesn’t make your skin tingle a bit.

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The species we see doing top-gun-like maneuvers around El Paso are white-lined sphinx moths, which are more colorful than the other two species of hummingbird moth and have a larger wingspan.

Are hummingbird moths dangerous?

They pose no danger to humans as they do not bite or sting; However, in their haste to get from one plant to another, they might smack you in the face.

Is my garden safe?

According to the internet, they are pollinators, not pests, and are beneficial to your garden and flowers. Just let them do their thing and do your best to avoid them.

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