A visit from a night creature!

[sugarplumkitty]

We have night-blooming primroses (a California wild-flower) growing in our front lawn. I talked Eric into mowing around them and they started blooming a week ago. Every night at dusk, they swell their buds and burst into bloom for one night. I have fond memories of watching them bloom with my grandmother at her house when I was small, so I'm delighted we have some growing in our yard. When the sun hits them in the morning, they wither and dry up.

The next evening a new set of buds repeat the performance.

I wondered what fertilized them and tonight Eric happened to see what I think is a sphinx moth sipping nectar. I got the camera and took three pictures, two of which have the moth. It left. I'm afraid I probably blinded it. Eric thinks he can see a very long probiscus in the flight photo. It was leaving from the flashes when I snapped that one. It's about the size of a hummingbird!

Isn't it gorgeous?

	Moth visiting our night-blooming primroses
	Moth sipping primrose nectar