hawk moth
noun1
Any moth of the family Sphingidae.
- Outside, the crickets and the tree-frogs started to zing and tinkle and the great hawkmoths came to the wire-netting across the windows and clutched it, gazing with trembling ecstasy at the two oil lamps that hung from the cross-beams inside.1954, Ian Fleming, “The Undertaker's Wind”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 186:
- Synonyms
- sphinx moth, hornworm
- Derived terms
- bee hawk moth, death's head hawk moth, elephant hawk moth, hummingbird hawk moth, lime hawk moth, poplar hawk moth, privet hawk moth, unicorn hawk moth, vine hawk moth, white-edged hunter hawkmoth