On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 13:31:59 +0100, brimon wrote:


"brimon" wrote in message
...
I have just been watching a hummingbird hawk moth feeding on the bright
red
flowers on my pelagoniums
just beside me on the patio. It went from flower to flower putting its
incredibly long proboscis right into
the flower to feed off the nectar and then moving very quickly to the
next
plant.
I have never seen anything like it here in UK.
It was a very sunny afternoon in Cheshire - is this yet another example
of
climate change or is this not as rare
as I thought.
There is a short video of the moth in action on
http://people.freenet.de/jfeldhusen/..._Hawk_Moth.htm

I hope this is not considered off topic but would like to hear if this
was
a
rare sighting.

Brian

Thanks for all your replies and interest.
Seems it was not that rare but enough to provoke interest.
I found the aerodynamics of the thing fascinating - how it could hover
completely stationary and then zoom off at an incredible speed.
Also seems to be attracted to red from the reports received.

Brian

They love the blue flowers of catmint. Ours were all over the plant untily
we trimmed it, then and only then were they interested in the lavender and
other flowers in the garden. There's also the bumble-bee moths that looks
similar and have transparent windows in their wings. Also worth keeping an
eye out for.

Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth [Hemaris fuciformis]
http://cgi.ukmoths.force9.co.uk/show.php?bf=1983

and Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth [Hemaris tityus]
http://cgi.ukmoths.force9.co.uk/show.php?bf=1982


Tim.