Moths

[Dave2002]

A strange beast - not a bee - came and fluttered around our garden this afternoon. I think it might have been a humming bird hawk moth.

If it comes again I'll try to photograph it. To me it looked as though it was flying backwards!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_hawk-moth

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A strange beast - not a bee - came and fluttered around our garden this afternoon. I think it might have been a humming bird hawk moth.
If it comes again I'll try to photograph it. To me it looked as though it was flying backwards!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_hawk-moth

- I saw one of these in my garden last year - the first time I'd ever seen anything like it, I had to look it up; hovered a lot, and then seemed to "flit" between places rather than flying between them. And a strange white-ish pattern on its "bum". I watched it fascinated for about quarter-of-an-hour/twenty minutes or so before it flew off - was particularly interested in the Foxgloves, I think I remember.

[Dave2002]

The whitish pattern seems to match what I saw.

[umslopogaas]

Its a sphingid (member of the family Sphingidae). I know little about them but they include the Death's Head Hawk Moth, which is bigger and scarier and has a pattern like a human skull on the upper thorax. I've longed to see one live, but never have, though I once saw a pinned specimen.

[jayne lee wilson]

Absolutely gorgeous aren't they, I've seen them on September evenings here, where they hover around the patio flower-tubs, moving so quickly between them they defeat the following eye. Absent, or missed, for a few years now - but there's still time and good weather for a few days yet...

[Stillhomewardbound]

A stag beatle. Now that's an entity that comes upon one with a shock. Worse still when I witnessed a swarm of them on Blackheath.

Stag beatles in full flying mode, I should point out.

[Dave2002]

There's a map of sightings here - http://butterfly-conservation.org/sightings/map/12/1087

with more survey results from this page - http://butterfly-conservation.org/61...ant-watch.html

There seem to have been more this year. I don't think these are at all like the Death's Head Hawk Moth. They are, indeed, rather like humming birds, with very rapidly beating wings - or at least that's what the thing I was was like. It's almost impossible to see the wings, but presumably a high speed camera can catch an image. They do not settle down onto plants like "normal" moths and butterflies.

The hummingbird hawk moths are from the species Sphingidae. The death's head hawk moths are from Acherontia. Doesn't mean much to me, but I guess these are different.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

They are, indeed, rather like humming birds, with very rapidly beating wings - or at least that's what the thing I was was like. It's almost impossible to see the wings, but presumably a high speed camera can catch an image. They do not settle down onto plants like "normal" moths and butterflies.

Yes - as jayne says moving so quickly ... they defeat the following eye; that was the thing that most riveted my attention, the way it just seemed to be in one place and then another without seeming to move between them.

[umslopogaas]

A bit of tentative taxonomy, I'm not very familar with moths. I think both the humming bird hawk moth and the death's head hawk moth are in the family Sphingidae, ie they are collectively known as sphingids. Within the family will be several genera: the latter is in the genus Acherontia, dont know the genus for the former. Within these genera will probably be several species, certainly the humming bird hm has relatives.

Corrections welcomed, I havent bothered to Google this and dont have any books on moths.

[ardcarp]

We see an occasional humminbird hawkmoth too. They seem to like the honeysuckle on our fence, and it's fascinating to see them uncurl their long proboscis into the flowers. We get even more elephant hawkmoths...really stunningly beautiful large moths with pinkish and olive green colourings. They get their name from the very ugly caterpillar stage which has a sort of 'trunk' on the front.

http://butterfly-conservation.org/51-1087/humming-bird-hawk-moth.html

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/elephant-hawk-moth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7hK1JKbFr0