“Look at that!”
“Where?”
“There! It’s the smallest hummingbird I have ever seen!”
“I see it now! You’re right! Look at it fly backwards!”
Moth, not hummingbird
“It’s a bug…”
The hummingbird hawk-moth … Its long proboscis and its hovering behaviour, accompanied by an audible humming noise, make it look remarkably like a hummingbird while feeding on flowers. – Wikipedia
Stunning capture!
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Thank you Zara. What a delight, to have this opportunity to photograph an insect I would never see in the place where I live.
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Beautiful series, what an extraordinary encounter to find one on such color… very nice.
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Thank you Cuervo. My eye could barely focus, it was moving so fast. Thank goodness for fast shutter speed.
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Excellent captures! I used to have them things buzzing me where we lived in Utah. They’re a bit spooky as they hover around you after dark with that strange sound.
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I had no idea there were insects that could fly like that! It would creep me out to have one flying near my head.
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I saw one for the first time last summer at The Arboretum at Flagstaff in northern Arizona.
Tamara
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How cool! Did you also think it was a hummingbird? Or is that a mistake only silly big city kids make?
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I didn’t know what it was, thought it could be a hummingbird. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a good shot. They kind of look like a freak of nature!
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Well caught! I love the blue of the flowers 🙂
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Thank you Wendy. It surprises me when I see very blue flowers. Those here were planted as a border around a very long reflecting pool.
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Lovely… Gorgeous colors too… Great catch…
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Thank you! The moth spotted the flowers. I spotted the moth. Lucky.
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Fantastic captures!! And all this color is just magnificent!
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Thank you Susan! You remind me of the line from Alice Walker’s Color Purple — “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”
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These are wonderful! very nice work. I had no idea there was such a thing.
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Neither did I! I was astonished to discover that this was a moth and not a hummingbird. I thought hummingbirds were the only flying creature that can go in reverse. Like I said in the title though – I’ve lived so long in a big city – what do I know?
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The title and captions are hilarious! Great shots!
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🙂 And that’s exactly what happened, too! 🙂
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Nature is full of wonderful surprises! 🙂
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The older I get, the more delighted & surprised.
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The color is strong, in a good way … esp. to spot such unique creature.
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The blue flowers were very bright, indeed. But the hummingbird moth was easy to spot because it was moving so fast & flitting from bloom to bloom. It was quite exciting.
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What a wonderful pictures! Great work. We see them quite a lot in summer and they are fascinating indeed.
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Thank you! It seems that there is a different species of hummingbird moth in North America, but I have never seen one – except on this day in Spain.
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I saw one a few years ago, flying around my butterfly bush. I had no clue what it was. Kind of fuzzy and fat like a moth, but it was acting like a hummingbird. I thought it was hummingbird moth. Why is it called a “hawk” moth. I would never have mistaken it for a hawk!
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Nothing I’ve read explains why it’s called a hawk-moth. But there are some really fascinating facts [here] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk-moth on Wikipedia.
For example:
– this hovering capability has evolved only four times in nectar feeders: in hummingbirds, certain bats, hoverflies, and these sphingids.
– Sphingids are some of the faster flying insects; some are capable of flying at over 12 miles per hour
– members of the tribe Choerocampini have hearing organs on their heads
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Beautifully clear photos of the little guys, MK. Synchronicity: Horticulture Magazine has a nice article which includes Hummingbird moths this month. Best wishes, WG
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Thanks WG! I will go check out the article. Isn’t nature (and synchronicity) wonderful?
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Endlessly… 😉
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Fantastic images and colors !
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I’m thankful the little moth had such bright orange wings, or I might not have seen him.
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Amazing. I love colors of Your beautiful photos.
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Thank you!
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I can’t believe you got shots brilliant as those!! In awe! ~SueBee
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It was like one of those dreams – you look around you, treasure every where, and you just go for it!
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Lovely colors. Love those photos. 🙂
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Thank you! I took sooooo many pictures of this busy moth, thinking all the while it was a type of hummingbird I hadn’t seen before.
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