embarrassed to even write this

My sister and I are having a discussion. SHE says her friend has all this info on hummingbirds. And ...here it comes........
that they are half bird, half insect.
Okay. You can stop laughing now.
I keep telling her. HOW CAN THAT BE. thats doesnt; even make sence. She claims that her friend has all this info on it. Well, I am yet to see the info. or find anything that suppots her theory/ I told her JUST because someone finds something on the WWW. doesn;t make it true.

Lol!! I got in an on going argument with a guy I work with last year. He swore up & down that he watched a National Geographic show about hummers and it said they never stop flying. He said they fly their entire life never stopping to rest!

I have heard that one too. BUT. I think my sisters tops that! Is she nuts or what/

Well mings - maybe it's the half insect, half bird hummer that never stops flying?!

???!!! :)

LOL, that's a riot! I do know they can't walk; their feet are made for perching, but not adapted well to walking. Point your sis to this: http://www.birds-n-garden.com/hummingbirds.html It's a fun site about them. :)

The hummers that have come into my garden take a little rest on the branches. so I know that they do stop flying. Have never seen them walk though...

interested in what I wrote to begin with. not the flying part. Anyone ever hear that part/

Hummingbirds are not 1/2 insect. All insects have at least 3 pair of legs and are segmented. I do not know of a hummingbird that has these characteristics.

thanksyou very much! those are the magic words I was hunting for. I will write that down and send it to my sister. Told you it was embarrassing!

I wouldn't be embarrassed. We never know unless we ask.

The only dumb question is the one you do not ask!

you must be sitting too close to the puter screen. Half bug and half bird> NAH! Come on. it was a REALLy dumb question!!lololol. . Like she says." she is the baby. Third copy didn;t come out too good. "

I can guarantee that hummers like to rest a bit. We have two feeders, one with perches, one without, and they always frequent the one that lets them perch while they dine!

Hummers perch 60 percent of the time. If you had the choice of eating sitting down or running, which would it be, especially if the object of your eating was to gain fat. Who is to say fat is not good for you.

I have a feeder on the deck just outside my kitchen window. Back in the summer I had put together a shelf for the greenhouse. It started raining and I just left the shelf where it was because I knew it wouldn't hurt it. Well it rained all evening and most of the next day, not hard but nice and steady. The shelf was sitting just below the hummer feeder, and on this shelf sit a little fluffed up hummer, in the rain, all day, guarding the feeder from the other hummers. I felt so sorry for him. He was soaked, but he didn't leave his post. He would fly off just long enough to chase the other hummers back to the trees, but then he would come right back. It was neat to be able to look at one so close for so long, and him sitting still.

I have a mister system set up for the birds. It really is fun watching the hummers bath on a leaf. The other day while in the yard two hummers were chasing each other, they both flew into me, felt like being hit with a feather. One fell to the ground but recovered quickly and flew off. I just love the little birds.

I think I found out WHAT my sister was talking about. One friend of mine lives about 2 hours away in themountains. She called them HUMBUGS.
Says they are all over the place there. This is from a scanned photo. Sorry it is not more clear. I showed it to a gal at work and SHe says she has them at her house. She lives a good 5 miles from me and I NEVER EVER saw one of these.
What is it and what is it called? Lady that took this photo says they are about as big as your thumb. Can you see teh little hook thing that comes out to drink the nectar?

try that photo again with out watermark

That is one TINY hummer! I'm ignorant on this subject, but I'll be interested if one of our experts posts to this thread! Thanks for the pic, Mimi.

it's a hummingbird moth. we get them a lot. can't remember their real name, but there has been some discussion on them before.

Did a "google" and am finding all sorts of info on Humming Bird Moths. Interesting. Dont; know why I havent seen any ever and people a few miles away have. Mother Nature sure is interesting.

Mings;

For it is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.

I think your sister or her friend had too much wine when she saw a hummer moth!! They difinitely look like half insect, half hummer!

"eyes"

they do eyes!!! we thought for a long time they were hummers until we saw one land. they come from hornworms on tomatoes mimi, so if you squash them or don't grow anything they like, that could be why you don't see them. and they only come out at night too.

Sister doesn;t drink.
Sorry.
And she says they look like half and half. Like you said.
Lost me there.

tIG: Do you mean those green tomato worms I remember from my childhood back in the midwest? They really creeped me out in those days. I once saw one on my shoulder, so I ran screaming around the yard until my brother tackled me and pulled it off. As I recall they were green inside, too, like split pea soup! I would have been less afraid if I knew what they turned into!

sphinx moth!! that's them. yes, those really nasty looking big tomato worms. and yes, their insides are the worst green! lol! I did let some live on my compost pile, but taking them there grossed me out.

Well, you know, on Dave's you learn something new every day.

They feed on butterfly gingerlilies at night or late evening. I've not seen them on other flowers, but surely they feed on other things. First time we saw one DH and I thought it was a hummer too. Then realized it had to be in the moth family. Sometimes you can put you hand close enough to feel the breeze from their wings.

That's so interesting, Gingerlily. I like the image of being able to feel the breeze from their wings. When you say they feed on the gingerlilies, do they eat it or are they after the pollen? See, Mimi's not the only one that feels like she's asking dumb questions!

They are feeding on the nectar. That tremendously long proboscis goes down into the bloom. I believe it may be a type of hawkmoth, but I'm no expert. There is a hummingbird hawkmoth, but it is not native to North America, so I guess this must be some other kind of hawkmoth.

could someone have brought them in and they naturalized here?

I wondered that myself. I guess it's possible.

We had Moon Vine a couple of years ago. They belong to morning glory family, but bloom at dusk. Flowers are 6" across. The hummingbird moths love them.
Bernie

The Humming bird moth like verbena also I got some great shots of them. I saw them for the first time 3 years ago, it let me come very close to take his picture.

CountryGardens: My mother used to grow moonflowers back in the midwest when I was a child. I really loved them. Do they have a good scent, as well? I can't remember.

Flowerpot, I'd love to see your pictures if you have the means to post them!

Supposed to be sweet smelling. I guess I never checked myself.
Bernie

Weezingreens.....I don't know how to up load onto the site, but could email them to you if you'd like. The moon flowers scent is only in the evening, I've never grown them but my neighbour did and the fragrance is lovely.
Linda

The hummer bird moths like 4 o'clock also.