Hummingbird Moth - Tumblr Posts

The hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) is a species of hawk moth found across temperate regions of Eurasia. The species is named for its similarity to hummingbirds, as they feed on the nectar of tube-shaped flowers using their long proboscis while hovering in the air; this resemblance is an example of convergent evolution.

The hummingbird hawk-moth is distributed throughout the northern Old World from Portugal to Japan, but it breeds mainly in warmer climates (southern Europe, North Africa, and points east). Three generations are produced in a year in Spain. There is evidence that the population in the British Isles is actively expanding its range, as numbers have been consistently increasing. In addition, it is believed that this population is becoming resident instead of migratory, as warmer temperatures due to climate change are allowing individuals to overwinter.

It is a strong flier, dispersing widely in the summer. However it rarely survives the winter in northern latitudes (e.g. north of the Alps in Europe, north of the Caucasus in Russia).

Moths in the genus Hemaris, also of the family Sphingidae, are known as "hummingbird moths" in the US, and "bee moths" in Europe.[citation needed] This sometimes causes confusion between this species and the North American genus.

Its long proboscis (25–28 mm (1.0–1.1 in)) and its hovering behavior, accompanied by an audible humming noise, make it look remarkably like a hummingbird while feeding on flowers. Like hummingbirds, it feeds on flowers which have tube-shaped corollae. It should not be confused with the moths called hummingbird moths in North America, genus Hemaris, members of the same family and with similar appearance and behavior. The resemblance to hummingbirds is an example of convergent evolution. It flies during the day, especially in bright sunshine, but also at dusk, dawn, and even in the rain, which is unusual for even diurnal hawkmoths. M. stellatarum engages in free hovering flight, which allows more maneuverability and control than fixed-wing flight, despite high energetic cost. Like many large insects, it relies upon Johnston's organs for body positioning information.

The hummingbird hawkmoth's visual abilities have been studied extensively, and they have demonstrated a relatively good ability to learn colours. They have a trichromatic visual system, and are most sensitive to wavelength in the range of 349-521 nm. They have been shown to discriminate a wavelength difference as small as 1–2 nm between sources. This discrimination is even more precise than Apis mellifera, or the western honey bee. Among other flower visitors, their visual system is similar to Papilio xuthus, or the Asian swallowtail butterfly, and Deilephila elpenor, the nocturnal elephant hawkmoth. Their food preference is based mainly on visual identification, while D. elpenor preference relies upon olfactory identification. Compared to D. elpenor, M. stellatarum have a much smaller number of ommatidia, but a larger optic lobe volume to provide more visual processing tissue.

A fun idea from my moot @samsonbmax suggested to draw one of the flying creatures into a Lackadaisy character— a hummingbird moth!!!

Reference (left) & Concept Ideas (right)

I have two designs here! Mid 20s (left) & Mid 30s/40s (right)

Very handsome lad—

The final!!!!

Have some close up!!!

He looks like he has Horatio vibes lmao—but yeah he was a chill middle-aged man with a carefree soul.

That's will be all for today! Tsym for the idea. I miss making ocs using insects as references haha (I will do it again).

~🧊

Hummingbird moth

Have any of you ever heard of the hummingbird moths we get in Britain?

So, I thought I saw a hummingbird last year. It was much bigger than a bug could be, I thought, and it hovered around flowers and looked like it had feathers.

I got pretty close but it was never still enough to see clearly. Then, when I told my parents they said "oh! it was probably a moth!" and I was baffled for a long time. Like, how could a moth look like and act so much like a hummingbird?

Until I googled "hummingbirds in the UK" and this fucker comes up:

Everyone, meet the hummingbird hawk-moth; one of the weirdest and coolest cases of convergent evolution on this planet.

This is the kinda thing I'd see in fiction and go "oooh cool, bug hummingbird! Wish we had those on earth!" But we do. We really do have them on earth!! Isn't that nuts?!?!?

#HUMMINGBIRD HAWK MOTH👐🏻& CATNIP👾🍃

@samirafee

Video courtesy of my dad 🩷

Fruczak gołąbek, or the hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) is oftentimes called the Polish hummingbird. The actual hummingbird is native to the Americas, while this little guy can be found in Europe, northern Africa, as well as part of Asia. Adult specimen consume flower nectar, and here you can see it having a little snack in my mum's garden 🌸🌱

My new favourite flower - hummingbird hawk-moth stays relatively still for a long time while feeding, so I get way more chances than on lavender.

Lviv 2024-08-25

📷Canon Powershot A650 IS

Hummingbird hawkmoth! Gotta be one of the best insects of all time

Rel!

I love them fr!!!

i was so excited to see a hummingbird hawk-moth inside the garden centre today that i bothered a stranger about it.

lucky for me he was an entomologist and just as hyped! 🥹 (unlucky for me, i couldn't wow him with my sick moth knowledge.)

Day 3 of October drawing prompts!

Mothtober: Hummingbird Hawk-Moth

Maltober: Ghosts/ Regrets

Apparently these moths can symbolize good luck. I had to ponder for a while about the intersection between good luck and ghosts/ regrets, and figured that both love and time existed in the space between both. This reminded me of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and a wonderful, poignant quote from near the end of the book. I really do love how it turned out with the ghostly hand.

Hummingbird Moth in our garden 7/22/22 in Tenants Harbor.

Baby Hummingbird Moth

First baby, I have ever seen. 08/21/23

Hummingbird Moths in the Garden

08/21/23 Hope you like these!

was looking up some sort of creatures last night while half asleep/in a daze and i legitimately thought i imagined them

More moths! Do you like em fluffy or with wacky colours?

Hummingbird clearwing moth & milkweed, Jey Schroeder, 2023