I spied this moth and zipped out with my camera. They move so rapidly that it was hard to get a perfect shot, but I especially loved the curled but ready proboscis as it headed towards the Butterfly Bush.
"At first sight, it’s easy to mistake a hummingbird moth for a tiny hummingbird. It feeds on the nectar of flowers, hovering with the body stationary, its transparent wings beating so fast as to be nearly invisible, and a long proboscis protruding beaklike into the blossom. In flight, the wings create a soft buzzing, also like a hummingbird.
Hummingbird moths are members of the sphinx moth family (Sphingidae), which have heavy bodies and long front wings. The wings of hummingbird moths are clear, with a black or brown border, and are nearly invisible when they fly. Males have a flared “tail” like that of a hovering hummingbird.
One obvious difference between the birds and the moths is size. The ruby-throated hummingbird can be 3” long. Hummingbird moths are much smaller at 1-1/2” long." www.massaudubon.org/
For the Record,
This day came in hot and humid yet again.
I retired from public school teaching after happily spending twenty eight years playing in Kindergarten. Now I fill my days watching cat antics, taking endless...
