THE TINY 'HUMMINGBIRD'

 

The Tiny ‘Hummingbird’ in Our Flowers 🦋🌸

🕵️ A Curious Minds Discovery

Today we spotted something VERY strange hovering around our flowers.

At first, we thought it was a huge bee.

Then we watched it fly.

It didn't fly like a bee at all.

It hovered perfectly in front of the flowers, zipped quickly from one flower to another and seemed to hang in the air while it fed.

For a moment, it looked like a tiny hummingbird!

But hummingbirds don't live wild in the UK.

And are they even that tiny?! 😂

So what on Earth was it?

We had discovered a...

🦋 HUMMINGBIRD HAWK MOTH!

Scientific name: Macroglossum stellatarum

And it might just be one of the coolest insects we have ever found in our garden.

🐦 Why Is It Called a Hummingbird Hawk Moth?

The name makes a lot more sense when you see one flying.

Instead of landing on a flower to drink, the moth can hover in front of it.

Its wings move incredibly quickly while its body seems to stay almost still in the air.

It then darts to the next flower and does it all over again.

From a distance, its chunky body, incredibly fast wings and hovering movement can make it look remarkably like a miniature hummingbird.

But it isn't a bird at all.

It is a moth!

⚡ Those Wings Are FAST

This was one of our favourite facts.

A hummingbird hawk moth can beat its wings around...

80 TIMES EVERY SECOND!

Try counting to one.

In the time it took you to say "one", its wings could have moved around 80 times.

No wonder they looked blurry when we tried to photograph ours!

🥤 It Has Its Own Drinking Straw

The hummingbird hawk moth doesn't need to climb right inside every flower to reach the nectar.

It has an amazingly long mouthpart called a proboscis.

When it wants to feed, it uncurls its proboscis and reaches it deep inside a flower to drink the nectar while hovering nearby.

When it has finished, the proboscis can curl back up again.

Basically...

It has a built in drinking straw. 😂

🌸 Why Was Ours Visiting Our Flowers?

It was hungry!

Adult hummingbird hawk moths drink nectar from flowers.

They particularly like flowers where their long proboscis helps them reach nectar hidden further inside.

Gardens can therefore become little feeding stations for these incredible insects.

And while they are visiting flowers, moths can also help with pollination.

🐛 But It Starts Life as a Caterpillar

Like other moths, a hummingbird hawk moth doesn't begin life looking anything like this.

Its life cycle goes:

Egg → Caterpillar → Pupa → Adult Moth

The caterpillars feed on plants including bedstraws and cleavers.

Yes...

CLEAVERS!

That sticky plant that grabs onto your clothes when you walk past it can actually provide food for hummingbird hawk moth caterpillars.

Something we might call a weed can be an important part of another animal's life.

✈️ They Are Travellers

Here is another amazing part of their story.

Many of the hummingbird hawk moths seen in Britain are migrants.

They can travel here from areas including southern Europe and North Africa.

That means the tiny creature hovering around our flowers may have travelled an incredible distance before arriving in our garden.

Imagine being that small and travelling between countries!

🇬🇧 Can You Really See Them in Britain?

Yes!

Hummingbird hawk moths can be spotted throughout the UK.

They are particularly associated with the warmer months and are usually seen flying between May and September, although occasional sightings can happen at other times too.

Unlike many moths that fly mainly at night, hummingbird hawk moths are active during the day.

That is why you might suddenly see one buzzing around your flowers in broad daylight.

📏 How Big Are They?

Their wingspan is usually around:

50 to 58 mm

So they are certainly not hummingbird sized.

But when their wings are moving incredibly quickly and they are hovering around a flower, they can appear much bigger and stranger than you might expect from a moth.

🎨 What Do They Look Like?

Look carefully and there are some brilliant identifying features.

They have:

🤎 Greyish brown forewings

🧡 Bright orange hindwings

⬛ A black and white patterned abdomen

👀 Large eyes

🥤 A very long proboscis

⚡ Extremely fast moving wings

The orange hindwings can be particularly noticeable when the moth is flying.

🤯 AMAZING HUMMINGBIRD HAWK MOTH FACTS

🌸 They can feed while hovering in mid air.

⚡ Their wings can beat around 80 times every second.

🐦 Their flight looks so much like a hummingbird that this similarity gave them their name.

☀️ They fly during the daytime.

🥤 They drink nectar using a long proboscis.

✈️ Many of the individuals reaching Britain migrate from warmer parts of Europe and North Africa.

🇬🇧 They can appear anywhere in the UK.

🦋 Their wingspan is roughly 50 to 58 mm.

🐛 Their caterpillars can eat cleavers and bedstraws.

🌼 Adult moths can help pollinate flowers.

🔎 IF YOU SPOT ONE...

Don't try to catch it.

Just stop and watch.

See whether you can notice it hovering in one place before suddenly shooting towards another flower.

If you have a camera, try taking a photograph or a slow motion video.

Getting a perfectly sharp photograph might be harder than you think.

Those wings are FAST!

💭 CURIOUS MINDS QUESTION

Imagine you had never heard of a hummingbird hawk moth.

You saw one hovering beside a flower for the first time.

What animal would YOU think it was?

A bee?

A bird?

A butterfly?

Or something completely different?

🌍 THE BEST PART OF TODAY'S DISCOVERY

We had never seen one before.

It wasn't at a zoo.

It wasn't in a nature documentary.

It wasn't something we travelled somewhere special to find.

It was simply visiting the flowers right outside.

Sometimes the strangest and most amazing creatures aren't hiding on the other side of the world.

Sometimes you just have to look closely at your own garden. 🌸🦋