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Data and code from: The evolution of proboscis length and feeding behavior in hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)

Couch, Christian1; Masonick, Paul1; Li, Xuankun2; Plotkin, David1; Breinholt, Jesse3; Rougerie, Rodolphe4; Barber, Jesse5; Kitching, Ian6; Kawahara, Akito1

Published Feb 12, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m37pvmdg3

Data files

Abstract

Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) display some of the most extraordinary and iconic morphological adaptations. They are well known to have long proboscides, which have evolved to obtain nectar from flowers with deep tubes. Proboscides of some hawkmoths reach nearly five times their body length, but other species have mouthparts that have become completely non-functional. Adult nectar feeding is thought to have been gained and lost multiple times across the family, but has never been formally tested. Here, we examine this evolution of proboscis length and feeding behavior. We constructed a dated phylogeny of Sphingidae using a 537-locus anchored hybrid enrichment dataset, sampling 168 of the 205 sphingid genera (~82 %). We inferred a robust phylogeny and conducted ancestral state reconstructions of adult feeding behavior, revealing the evolution of feeding gains and losses. Our results show that adult feeding in hawkmoths first evolved around 44 million years ago, with the sphingid subfamilies diverging from one another during the Eocene. We found that hawkmoth feeding behavior evolved independently, multiple times over the evolutionary history of this family. This research provides a novel contribution to understanding the evolution and ecology of an economically and environmentally important insect lineage.