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| photo by Elaine Lockey |
While eating dinner recently on a restaurant’s outdoor
patio, I noticed something flying around the potted plants. My first thought was “hummingbird” but
something didn’t seem quite right. On
further inspection, it turned out to be an insect resembling a hummingbird. It wasn’t long before it attracted the
attention of many of the other diners.
This strange insect that acts like a hummingbird is commonly
called a “hummingbird moth”. Sphinx
moths and hawk moths are the common name for many of the hornworms, but there
are several different species that can also be called hummingbird moths,
because of the similar type of flight pattern with fast wing beats, hovering
behavior and similar size heavy body.
They fly around deep-lobed flowers, and so are commonly seen around your
flowers.
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| Hyles lineata caterpillar photo courtesy of www.buglifecycle.com |
The beautiful Whitelined sphinx, Hyles lineata, is most commonly called the hummingbird moth. You
will also come across the Smerinthus
jamaicensis or Twinspot sphinx with pink coloration, among others. Hummingbird moths are in the Sphingidae or Hornworm
family which has over 30 species in Colorado, including the infamous Tomato and
Tobacco Hornworms. However, most
Hornworms do not cause significant plant damage.
It’s helpful to recognize the differences in appearance of
the hornworms so you don’t unknowingly destroy the wrong species of
hornworm. A handy Extension factsheet is available to help with identification of some of the more common
species you might come across, including the destructive ones. Adult moths will feed on the nectar of many
different flowers by using their proboscis, a long thin needle-like mouthpart,
like a tongue. Like butterflies, the proboscis stays coiled up until the moth
approaches a flower then it uncoils and is inserted into the flower. It is
really impressive to watch how much control these insects have over this
apparatus, inserting it into the smallest of flower parts with precision.
It is strange to see a moth out during the middle of a sunny
day. These moths are active during the
day, dusk, dawn and also in the rain.
They like a variety of open habitats including gardens, deserts, and
meadows. They will often travel with
other moths and are not as wary as hummingbirds so you can usually snap a few
photos quite close up. If you come across one of these exotic moths, be sure to
point it out to anyone within range. This
amazing insect will impress even your most insect-phobic friends.