It's (not) a bird or a bee - it's a White-lined Sphinx Moth

The monsoon rains during the past month have helped to produce a bumper population of butterflies and moths. During my afternoon walk I came across several of the White-lined Sphinx Moths - Hyles (or Hiles) lineata. At a quick glance with their rapid wing beats they resemble hummingbirds and are one of the larger moths in the Southwest.
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Not the best quality shots but it was hard to capture this beauty at a still moment. Of course the rapid flight (the beat rate of those wings can be 41 beats per second means that they maintain a body temperature around 104 to 108 degrees.

Enjoy a short video of the moth at work on these flowers (the frame rate of the recording makes their wings appear to be moving slowly)

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