The winter is spent as a pupa in the soil. The pupa is about 2 inches long, dark brown in color and spindle-shaped, with the encased mouthparts prominent and separated from the body, appearing like a handle. Adult moths emerge in the spring. They are large-bodied moths with a 4 to 5 inch wingspan that resemble humming birds in flight as they hover around flowers from which they obtain nectar at dusk. The moth's abdomen is marked with five pairs of orange-yellow spots.
Female moths deposit greenish-yellow eggs single on the undersides of host plant leaves.
Unless the pupa over-winters, adults can emerge in about 3 weeks, producing two generations per year. Caterpillars have chewing mouthparts. Adults have siphoning mouths. Caterpillars feed of leaves of tomato, eggplant, pepper, potato and some weeds. Adults are attracted to lights.