Sphingidae

Sphingidae is a family of moths commonly called sphinx moths or hawk moths, with caterpillars known as hornworms, comprising about 1,450 species in roughly 200 genera found worldwide and best represented in the tropics. Adults are moderate to large, with narrow wings and streamlined bodies suited to fast, sustained flight, and several species, including the hummingbird hawk-moth, hover at flowers to feed on nectar in a manner easily mistaken for a hummingbird, an example of convergent evolution shared with only a few other nectar feeding groups. Many sphingids have some of the longest proboscides of any insect, letting them reach nectar in flowers with deep corolla tubes other pollinators cannot access. The family was formally established by the French zoologist Pierre Andre Latreille in 1802.