Hawk" moth` (?; 115). Zool.
Any moth of the family Sphingidae, 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 larvae 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.
⇒ The larvae of several species of hawk moths feed on grapevines. The elm-tree hawk moth is Ceratomia Amyntor.
© Webster 1913.