A Nessus Sphinx

This morning after a short rainstorm, I wandered down the driveway on my ritual Libby walk and found this Nessus sphinx moth, Amphion floridensis, resting under a red milkweed flower. (If you look closely, you can also see the requisite bright orange aphids that hang out on milkweed.)

Looks like these moths are fairly common throughout the Eastern U.S. and their caterpillars host on Virginia creeper, which we have growing all over our fences, through the back lawn and up our pecan tree. It turns a beautiful red in fall (which means December here).