Hawkmoth

Hawkmoth, originally uploaded by pennyeast - still MIA - sorry!!.

I have been a bit annoyed over the past few days to still be finding young hawkmoth caterpillars on my fuchsias as I would have expected them to be gone by now. Imagine my reaction to finding a hawkmoth in its prime ready to lay eggs all over the place!!I'm having difficulty identifying this one - it doesn't look like the usual Vine Hawkmoths that are so common around here, and I can't find it in the books. Hopefully somebody can help?

I was not amused to find evidence of recent activity when I looked more closely. Here is an egg - presumably laid by this moth - on the sepal of 'Purple Heart'. - An unusual find as these eggs are usually laid on the underside of leaves for protection and to provide the minute monsters with their first meal!