Manuscript 1042; Received 29 May 2003; Finally accepted 6 July 2004; © Zoo Outreach Organisation; www.zoosprint.org 1595 Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) are one of the most peculiar creatures of nature. These creatures are generally characterized as large, strong flying lepidopterans (D’Abrera, 1986). Sphingidae is primarily a tropical family (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903) and comprises of about 200 genera with 1,000 species distributed worldwide except in the colder regions (Arnett, 1985). The number of genera and species is greatest in tropical latitudes and decreases towards higher latitudes (Grant, 1983). Like all other lepidopterans, hawkmoths are holometabolous with egg, larval, pupal and adult stages, each stage is distinctly marked in the life cycle. The eggs are globular, or slightly flattened and smooth (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903). Larvae are brightly coloured with a characteristic “sphingid horn” at one end. They are external leaf feeders and often eat specific food plants (Holland, 1903). Most of the larvae are serious pests and feed on many different crops such as tomatoes and tobacco (Borkent & Greenway, 1997). Pupae are formed in leaf litter or underground, and rarely on the host plant. Adults are nectarivorous (Boggs, 1987). Nectar is usually rich in carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, antioxidants, alkaloids, proteins, vitamins, etc. (Dafni, 1992).