The hummingbird hawk-moth is partial to flowers with tube-shaped petals and uses its long, curled proboscis — an elongated sucking mouthpart — to extract nectar from the flower's center.

A stationary Carolina sphinx moth (Manduca sexta) is the Cinderella of the animal ... hovering to drink nectar. M. sexta’s proboscis, longer than its 2-inch body, stays unfurled, a straw ready to ...

According to Dr. Ellis, "Both male and female flying hawk, hummingbird, or sphinx moths have a famously long 1-inch (25 mm) proboscis or insect tongue that rests curled up like a garden hose under ...