The Hummingbird Hawk Moth Macroglossum stellatarum (Fr. Moro-sphinx) is a day flying moth that is known for its habit of sucking nectar from flowers with its long tongue while hovering in front of the flower. It is a medium sized moth with a chubby body, and front wings that are beigey brown on the upperside and hind wings that are orange. Underneath it is orangey brown. The body is grey brown with a black and white checkerboard pattern on the sides.
It is accessing nectar other insects cannot reach and is very partial to violet, blue or white flowers, especially lavendar and sages. The caterpillars eat bedstraws Galium sp. (Fr. les Gaillets).
They are amongst the speediest moths, able to achieve 50 kilometres an hour, and averaging 40 kilometres an hour. The species is migratory and roams the greater part of Eurasia and North Africa. In the warmer south it will fly all year, but here in central France we see it primarily in the summer.
It visits flowers in gardens, meadows and scrub and is very easy to see because of its abundance and distinctive behaviour.
1 comment:
And, along with it.... the B-bBHm [Hemaris fuciformis] regularly....
and twice here, an N-bBHm [Hemaris tityus] - very different as it looked like a yellow object floating in the air.
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