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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dom F" data-source="post: 3356081" data-attributes="member: 73343">I caught this hawkmoth a couple of days ago and at first glance I thought it was a small Gathothlibus eras but something kept niggling at the back of my mind that it was just too small. On looking at it the next morning I started to second guess myself and jumped back and forth between a small eras and a slightly odd Hippotion scrofa. I posted it on a Sphingid page on Facebook where several far more experienced mothers confirmed its ID as eras and I left it at that although it still did not feel right. Anyway this morning another friend pointed out that there were in fact two species of Gnathothlibus that could occur in Australia - eras and australiensis. On closer examination its smaller size and lack of hairy front legs tentatively made an ID of Gnathothlibus australiensis, the ID was confirmed today by a sphingid specialist Jean Hauxaire. The moral of the story is your gut instinct is often right!</blockquote>