I need an insect ID

[mykey14]

I found this..."thing" on my patio.

So i caught him and put him in my home made cage and took a photo of him next to a 12" ruler.

please tell me what this is...

also tell if you can see it, lol

 

[agent A]

Some sort of sphinx moth

 

[brancsikia339]

Either sphinx or hawk moth

 

[CoolMantid]

Some sort of sphinx moth

+1

We need a front view of it to tell for sure

 

[Idolofreak]

Definitely sphinx or hawk moth. We have a huge variety of those here in Nebraska.

 

[Rick]

http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740 A fantastic resource.

 

[mykey14]

thanks guys

I let him go last night because i couldnt sleep with him buzzing around in the cage.

He sounded like a small bird flapping around in there. lol

 

[brancsikia339]

Did you ever find any more?

 

[Psychobunny]

I have seen a few of something that looks just like that in my yard.

They are HUGE!! bigger then most birds.

Never tried to catch one, I just stand there starring with my jaw dropping

 

[CoolMantid]

I have seen a few of something that looks just like that in my yard.

They are HUGE!! bigger then most birds.

Never tried to catch one, I just stand there starring with my jaw dropping

You might have found a Saturniid moth! They can get as big as 7 inches here in the USA. You probally saw a Prometha Moth based on where you are located. Search for USA Saturniid moths google and try to find one that resembles the one you found

 

[Peter Clausen]

Saturniids don't hold their wings like that. Definitely family sphingidae. Surely a quick run through the browse tabs at bugguide.net would reveal the species in under ten minutes of joyful perusal.