Macroglossum stellatarum Humming-bird Hawk Moth
On a hot day a few years ago while photographing Polemonium caeruleum (Jacob's Ladder) in Derbyshire, I was visited by a Humming-bird Hawk Moth. I could see the long proboscis accurately probing each flower but what I hadn't known before I saw it is how quickly it examines each floret. The insect hovers for only a fraction of second before moving quickly to the next and after sampling more than 20 florets it was gone. The whole thing lasted no more than 20 seconds at most.
On this occasion in Europe we watched the insect for a while and this time it stayed apparently motionless in mid air for enough time for me to get the camera ready. This expandable image shot was taken at 1/1000 second at f7.1 and even at that speed the wings are still a blur.
Macroglossum stellatarum flies in bright sunshine but will also been seen out in the rain and at night. The larval food plants are Galium species (Bedstraws) and the adults enjoy flowers which have plenty of nectar like Buddleja. Here it is feeding on a Rhinanthus species (Yellow Rattle).
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| Macroglossum stellatarum Humming-bird Hawk Moth |
Hills opposite Gèdre, French Pyrenees, 13th June 2009
Added on 14th June 2010