A family comprising about a thousand species that are widespread throughout the world, mainly in tropical areas. The moths are usually large and reach up to about 170 mm. In this family the wings are narrow and long and the body is large, which requires them to move their wings in sharp fluttering motions, hence their name. The family name in foreign languages, Sphingidae, originates from the larva’s shape standing like a sphinx. They are fast fliers capable of flying at speeds of up to 50 km/h, hence their English name Hawk moth. They can suck nectar while fluttering their wings. Most of them have a very long proboscis that allows them to suck nectar from flowers with a long tube (such as honeysuckle), and some of the flowers depend on sphingids for their pollination. The forewing is connected to the hindwing by a spur, so their wings connect into "one large wing" during flight. The body is usually pointed at the end and the tip of the antenna is thin and curved. Most species are active at night, but some have switched to crepuscular activity and even to daytime activity (Macroglossum stellatarum). In Israel, all species produce several generations a year, from spring until late summer.
The female lays large, oval eggs, usually singly on host plants. A narrow, long larva hatches from the egg and grows quickly. Sphingid larvae are hairless, large and bulky, and have a "horn" at the end of their body. The larvae of many species have prominent "eyes" on their bodies. In many species, the larvae have several forms. The larva pupates inside a silken cradle that it builds between leaves or in the soil. The pupa is obtect and large and in many cases has a spine at its end.
In the country there are about 20 species, some of them rare and have been recorded in Israel only a few times.