Hummingbird Moth in action

This morning before the sun was up I saw a hummer very upset acting in the salvia. It turns out he was trying to do battle with a Hummingbird Moth. The Hummingbird Moth in the semi-dark conditions looked like a small hummer with stripes. The hummer gave up and left the Hummingbird Moth to feast on the salvia. He was there 5 to 10 minutes. I finally said I need some pictures after the hummer left. Couldn't have gotten pictures while the hummer there to much action. The moth was to quick for the hummer.

Here come the best pictures that I was able to capture.

This message was edited Jul 9, 2011 6:52 AM

Pic 2.

Pic 3.

Pic 4.
The end.

Your pictures are amazing, especially the first one. WOW!!!!!

It was tough to get pictures. My camera is old, there is a second or two delay when using the flash, you have to follow the moth until the flash goes off. Lets say I had pictures of just the salvia.

Photo Shopped to enlarge.

Photo Shopped to enlarge

Nice shots Wildcat. This is a White-Lined Sphinx moth (Hyles lineata).

Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com

Thanks for the name Dale.

This little guy is quick. A hummer couldn't touch him.

Thank you for sharing. She's beautiful. :)

I do wildlife rehab and have a possum on the back porch waiting release. Since she's nocturnal i am out there at all hours and usually wander in the yard with a flashlight

I saw my own white lined sphinx moth a few nights ago having a party on my cleome/spider flowers. What a treat!

Do you have any recommendations on night blooming plants to attract more of the nocturnal leps?

I don't have any idea about night bloomers. Sorry. I like to attract hummers. It was a hummer going crazy in the dark that got my attention. This is the second White-Lined Sphinx I have ever seen, the first time to see one fly., hover and feed..

I don't have any idea about night bloomers. Sorry. I like to attract hummers. It was a hummer going crazy in the dark that got my attention. This is the second White-Lined Sphinx I have ever seen, the first time to see one fly., hover and feed..

Well I have never seen a hummer in the dark, either. I think several genus of the sphinx moth are nocturnal so it's not surprising we don't see them. I know a lot of white flowering plants bloom at night. It might be another special gardening interest to try to attract those night hawk type feeders. ;)

Great pictures, btw - my BF tried to get a shot or two and all he got were red eyeball photos in the dark.

You might want to try Moon Flowers or Angel Trumpet, not exactly sure of the name(s), but they bloom only near dusk and are open all night til the next mid day - I even think they're hardy in your zone! Not in mine, but I did get lucky and have a small grouping of plants where all the seeds gathered in the mud after the first snow.
Last year, I planted 10 of the moon flower plants and had an entire fence line of flowers - stunning! Little did I know that they were doomed - that's what you get when you are so enamored with the flowers you forget to check the zones!

I'm growing my first datura this year which I received when I went to a DG gathering in southern VA. It is really something - it just started to bloom this week. The growth habit reminds me of the mexican sunflowers/tithonia I grew last season. Sorry lost yours - I remember reading that their seeds are prolific - did you keep any? If you need any I might just have some for you. ;)

I have had moonvine in the past, but don't have any place for it in this new yard.

I wish I weren't so well-loved by the mosquitoes or I'd be out there enjoying the garden at night, especially now with the heat when I can't enjoy it at all during the day. :/

Stay cool!

A.

Great pictures Wildcatthicket! These guys love moonvine flowers. I have 2 or 3 hummer moths sipping nectar at night on this vine. These vines are annuals here also, zone 8b. I germinate 1 seed for 1 plant and it grows large enough to cover a big area and bring plenty of nectar loving angels. They will reseed here so when the vine starts to die I cut the vine down with it's seed pods, save a few seed and throw the seed covered vine way......away! I keep trying to get pictures as good as you have shown here. I'll keep trying, I do love watching them.

Thanks for the complement on the pictures. The moths are pretty but their larva will strip a tomato plant one afternoon. I have only have seen one worm this year and that was on one of my mini crapes. Needless to say he never learned to fly.

I have seen hummingbird moths and hummingbirds but never both at the same time. Wow! You are lucky.

Here is a Sphinx moth that just visited us recently. Haven't seen any around before now this year, but they are probably around and we just didn't see it until this day. We just happened to be by one of my flower beds when it payed a visit. And my son had his camera out with him so he got the pictures for me.

It really seemed to be enjoying my garden phlox.

And the last picture we got of it.
I'm glad we have them and our Hummingbirds. Because we have almost no butterflies here this year :(

Oh my gosh! I just realized now what the heck you are all talking about with these hummingbird moths. Am I crazy or do I possibly see them during the day? I just saw one again today and looked at it as closely as possible and - again not realizing what it was - thought gee is that some sort of baby hummingbird? Anyway, I'm obviously a bit confused, but mine are actually slower than my mostly skittish hummingbirds.

Any comments are greatly welcomed.

I posted a while ago mentioning the moon flowers - and although they got quite the late start - I'll have 25 blooms in the next few days - all that despite them being hardy only to zone 8 - I'm in 5!!!!

Couldn't be happier!

Yes the H-moth does feed during the day. There are also nocturnal sphinx moths so you're not crazy.

Well, not entirely. ;)

Enjoy!

A.

Thanks for the clarification - I can't believe I thought they were baby hummingbirds - I think they're really cool. I get a kick out of the fact that they're slower and much easier for me to spot. Can't believe that such a thing even exists!

Very neat!

Don't feel bad seaotter. The first one visited us 2 years ago, and I had no idea what it was. I was out trying to get some good pictures of my flowers when it appeared and I had no idea what it was either. That was my first time seeing them too. I went on line to try to figure out what it was and decided to type in baby hummingbird. That took me to a site that said, "if you think you have seen a baby hummingbird, you have probably seen a sphinx moth". And it showed a picture of it, so that's how I ended up finding out what it was. At that time I didn't have a good enough picture of one to ask for an ID of it.
I have been watching my flower bed for that past couple of days. I went out there yesterday only to find 3 of the little things flying around my plants. So out came the camera again to see if I could get a better picture of them. Here are 2 of them :)

I'll put in some of the better pictures that I got of them.

It was so close at times that I could hear the humming sound that the wings made from moving so fast.
This is the first time I have gotten an underside shot of one.

Another underside shot.

And yes seaotter, they do seem to move slower. Or there just not as skittish as the hummingbirds are. While I was taking pictures of these, the hummingbird came over to the flower bed too, but was gone in a flash when it saw that I was there. The sphinx moth didn't seem to mind me being there as much as the hummingbird did.

Haven't seen any this year, though I did get the white lined sphinx moth several weeks ago one evening. Guess all to do with the general shortage of the winged creatures in general. Still trying to maintain their favorite plants despite the heat and dry ground.

Temp here dropped into the 60s overnight and expecting rain over the weekend. Hang on plants!!!

Here's a nice portrait of the hummer from last season resting in my rosemary - just sat there one afternoon. Must have liked the scent or something. :)

A.

Nice picture Amanda. I wish mine would sit still for just a minute when I have the camera out there.
They seem to love the garden phlox that are coming to an end, but they like the butterfly bush too, and that has just started to blossom. It seems to be a little behind the rest of the plants this year.

Too cool! I have a ear tree they come at dusk dark there might be 25 of them hitting that tree when its in bloom

grrr...I want to get a picture like you all have!!! Just so cool! What is an 'ear tree'? Maybe I can grow one in South Georgia?

A ear tree looks like a huge Mimosa tree the seeds look like dark brown ears porous tree makes a nice shade tree. When it flowers there white puffs these moths love it

I'm in zone 5a (Illinois) and I often see these cool little creatures during the day. Most recently they really seem to like my butterfly bush.

I STILL can't believe I originally thought they were some kind of baby hummingbirds!

The Sphinx Moths are not the same as the Hummingbird Moths huh?

Here is a picture I took of a Sphinx moth on a chair on my deck. Not even close to the hummer moth is it?

Jnette

My photo was a White-Lined Sphinx moth (Hyles lineata). That is the first photo in the tread.
Yours appears to be a different type of Sphinx moth. But how would I know. I don't one name from another.

The White-Lined Sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) ID was courtesy of
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
http://www.dallasbutterflies.com