ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS > OTHER INSECTS BOTH GOOD AND BAD FOR THE GARDEN

Wierd bug or was it an animal?

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SgtMaj:
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? 

SgtMaj:
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...

MrILoveTheAnts:
Yep sounds like a Hummingbird moth. I believe they use our native honeysuckles as a host plant.

Shawn:
Yeap, I saw one in my bee garden. It was using the cat mint quite a bit.

qa33010:
   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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