Sunday 24 July 2022

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

There is a lot happening at this time of year so I get a bit behind posting things on the blog.  A hummingbird hawk-moth was a regular visitor to my kitchen garden eat the end of last month month, attracted by the mass of viper's bugloss.  It is a very challenging subject to photograph, especially in late evening light.  I read that its wings beat 85 times a second, even faster than a hummingbird.  That's one complete wing beat in 0.012s - no wonder the wings are blurred.  Here are the best of a few hundred(!) photos.








I have seen several hummingbird hawk-moths this year in different gardens.  The UK moths are usually immigrants from southern Europe or North Africa so there may have been more incomers on the recent southerly winds.  The BTO Garden Birdwatch may not be the most accurate measure of abundance but it has recorded a notably higher number than usual this year already.

Graph showing differences in Hummingbird Hawkmoth reporting rates between 2022 (blue) and 2017 (black), the previous record holding year.

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