Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => GARDENING AROUND THE HOUSE => OTHER INSECTS BOTH GOOD AND BAD FOR THE GARDEN => Topic started by: SgtMaj on June 26, 2008, 07:21:41 am
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I saw a wierd bug/animal at the nursury the other day. It was just a little larger than a large bumble-bee (which is what I thought it was at first). But it flies just like a hummingbird, and it's back-side is squared off. I got a pretty good look at it, and even though it never stopped flying I'm almost positive I saw tiny tail feathers, and I KNOW it used it's tail in flight for stability, just like a bird would. It also used a straw to suck the nectar from the flowers... but the straw was like a butterfly's drinking straw... as in it curled up. Didn't get a look at the wings because they were beating way too fast to see.
Anyone know what this could be? Is it an insect or a super-tiny humming bird perhaps?
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You know what? No sooner than I posted this, than I thought to try a different search term I hadn't used before, and I found it....
It's called a hummingbird moth... here's a pic that looks like the one I saw...
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1357/848262844_f99855faa6.jpg?v=0)
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Yep sounds like a Hummingbird moth. I believe they use our native honeysuckles as a host plant.
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Yeap, I saw one in my bee garden. It was using the cat mint quite a bit.
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Yep! We have some here also. When I first saw one I had the camera and thought it was some kind of hummingbird. A friend of ours said probably a moth. Sure enough! :)
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Yeah, I see them all the time here. I really enjoy them. I caught this one last month hoping it might be a female and hoping I might be able to get some eggs from it. No such luck, so I let it go. Anybody know how to tell the males from the females?
Just before he/she went zooming off.
(http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j365/MichiganBee/Moths%202011/HummingBirdMoth.jpg)