Honey Bee vs Blackburn's Sphinx Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	Honey Bee	Blackburn's Sphinx Moth
Scientific Name	Apis mellifera	Manduca blackburni
Order	Hymenoptera	Lepidoptera
Family	Apidae	Sphingidae
Size	12-15 mm	100-120 mm wingspan
Habitat	Heathland	Heathland
Diet	Nectar Feeders	Nectar Feeders
Regions	Worldwide	Oceania (Hawaii)
Conservation	Least Concern	Endangered

Honey Bee

The worlds most important pollinator. Lives in complex colonies of up to 80,000 individuals with a single queen. Communicates food locations through the waggle dance.

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Did You Know?

A honey bee must visit about 2 million flowers and fly over 88,000 km — equivalent to circling the Earth twice — to produce just one pound of honey.

Blackburn's Sphinx Moth

The largest native insect in Hawaii, this sphinx moth has a wingspan up to 120 mm. It was once widespread across the islands but is now extremely rare due to habitat loss and invasive species. Its larvae originally fed on native aiea trees but now also use introduced tobacco.

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Did You Know?

This moth has adapted to feed on introduced tobacco plants, a relative of its native host, which may have helped prevent its extinction.