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Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Hi all,
Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) last night. Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting and hovering around the Sweet William. I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way. Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the internet dashed that hope. Quite an amazing sight. Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement. I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again. Regards Geoff Norfolk |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Thank goodness for your report ; last year I saw one of these moths around
some flowers here at home in Cornwall. I tried without success to find somebody else who might have seen one. What is known off these creatures. Lepslie "GeoffH" wrote in message ... Hi all, Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) last night. Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting and hovering around the Sweet William. I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way. Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the internet dashed that hope. Quite an amazing sight. Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement. I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again. Regards Geoff Norfolk |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
In article , Therefore writes "GeoffH" wrote in message .. . Hi all, Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) last night. Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting and hovering around the Sweet William. I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way. Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the internet dashed that hope. Quite an amazing sight. Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement. I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again. Thank goodness for your report ; last year I saw one of these moths around some flowers here at home in Cornwall. I tried without success to find somebody else who might have seen one. What is known off these creatures. They are migrants from France which turn up in the southern half of England almost every year, sometimes in quite large numbers, in whih years they often reach further north into Scotland. See, e.g., http://cgi.ukmoths.force9.co.uk/show.php?bf=1984 -- Malcolm |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
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Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Malcolm wrote:
They are migrants from France which turn up in the southern half of England almost every year, sometimes in quite large numbers, in whih years they often reach further north into Scotland. See, e.g., http://cgi.ukmoths.force9.co.uk/show.php?bf=1984 OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast came along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First off I thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to look at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13 amp fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to go on I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could get hurt' any ideas? Steve R |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
On Sun, 22 Jun 2003 00:36 +0100 (BST), Steve Harris
wrote: In article , (GeoffH) wrote: Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) last night. Well, I saw this really weird bug yesterday. It had a body about 3" long, bright yellow and 4 wings about 3" across. It kept on returning to the top of one of the bamboo poles supporting a tomato plant. Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com Dragonfly? |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
In article , Andy Spragg writes "Essjay001" pushed briefly to the front of the queue on Mon, 23 Jun 2003 04:30:14 +0000 (UTC), and nailed this to the shed door: ^ OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast came ^ along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was ^ somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First off I ^ thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to look ^ at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13 amp ^ fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to go on ^ I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could get ^ hurt' any ideas? A hornet? Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression! What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that fairly well. -- Malcolm |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Message-ID: oprq7phvevwxhha1@localhost
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-15; format=flowed From: Tim Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 10:50:09 +0200 In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Opera7.10/Win32 M2 BETA3 build 2830 Lines: 51 NNTP-Posting-Host: 164.3.25.10 X-Trace: 1056358210 newsreader02.highway.telekom.at 22264 164.3.25.10 Path: kermit!newsfeed-east.nntpserver.com!nntpserver.com!eusc.inter.net! akk.uni-karlsruhe.de!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!195.34.132.48.MISMATCH!newsfeed01.chello .at!newsfeed01.univie.ac.at!newsfeed01.highway.tel ekom.at!newsreader02.highway.telek om.at!not-for-mail Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:150712 On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 09:15:44 +0100, Malcolm wrote: In article , Andy Spragg writes "Essjay001" pushed briefly to the front of the queue on Mon, 23 Jun 2003 04:30:14 +0000 (UTC), and nailed this to the shed door: ^ OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast came ^ along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was ^ somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First off I ^ thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to look ^ at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13 amp ^ fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to go on ^ I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could get ^ hurt' any ideas? Short wings, long wings (in comparison to body-length)? Wholly or partly transparent, or solid wings, with or without markings? All things difficult to remember or even notice at a fleeting glance, I know. Did the legs hang down while it was flying? Did you notice the antennae. Did it seem to have a waist at all, like a wasps, bees or ants do? A hornet? There are some short stumpy-bodied dragonflies (can't think of any names at the moment). Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression! Hornets (Vespa crabro) have orange/brown eyes and hairs [http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/hornets.htm], whereas the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) have black hair and eyes. [http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder....a_vulgaris.htm] If you see a black and yellow thing that's as big as a hornet it's probably a queen wasp. What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that fairly well. |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
GeoffH wrote: Hi all, Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) last night. Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting and hovering around the Sweet William. I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way. Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the internet dashed that hope. Quite an amazing sight. Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement. I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again. Regards Geoff Norfolk Are you sure it was a hummingbird hawk moth? They are usually day fliers AFAIK. There are lots of other hawkmoths that are night fliers. There is an excellent guide to hawmoths of the UK in this months BBC Wildlife mag. Anita |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
In article , A.Malhotra writes GeoffH wrote: Hi all, Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) last night. Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting and hovering around the Sweet William. I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way. Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the internet dashed that hope. Quite an amazing sight. Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement. I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again. Regards Geoff Norfolk Are you sure it was a hummingbird hawk moth? They are usually day fliers AFAIK. There are lots of other hawkmoths that are night fliers. There is an excellent guide to hawmoths of the UK in this months BBC Wildlife mag. Depending a little where he lives, watching a hummingbird hawk moth outside after watching Gardener's World, i.e. just after 9.00 p.m., does not necessarily mean that it was night-time. It was after all on the longest day of the year! -- Malcolm |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Malcolm wrote: Depending a little where he lives, watching a hummingbird hawk moth outside after watching Gardener's World, i.e. just after 9.00 p.m., does not necessarily mean that it was night-time. It was after all on the longest day of the year! -- Malcolm True! I just read the "went out last night" bit and thought he DID mean night! I have no idea what time GW is on, I don't have a telly. But I suppose I should have worked it out is wasn't likely to be a late show! Anita |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Yes it was still light.
From the photos I could find on the internet it looked like it was. I will check the magazine just to make sure. It was just such an unusual sight to see that brain just would not function, not that it does at the best of times. All I can remember now is the mottled rump it had. No chance of seeing what the wings where like at all, except they looked hummingbird like if that's any good :-) It remains daylight until after 9pm here in Norfolk. GeoffH On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 11:32:59 +0100, "A.Malhotra" wrote: Are you sure it was a hummingbird hawk moth? They are usually day fliers AFAIK. There are lots of other hawkmoths that are night fliers. There is an excellent guide to hawmoths of the UK in this months BBC Wildlife mag. Anita |
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
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Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Tim wrote:
Short wings, long wings (in comparison to body-length)? Wholly or partly transparent, or solid wings, with or without markings? All things difficult to remember or even notice at a fleeting glance, I know. Did the legs hang down while it was flying? Did you notice the antennae. Did it seem to have a waist at all, like a wasps, bees or ants do? Sorry, but I didn't see the wings (moving too fast) or remember legs and things was more concerned that I hadn't seen one before and it looked big enough to give a painful sting. Having said that in hindsight it probably wasn't a stinger. A hornet? There are some short stumpy-bodied dragonflies (can't think of any names at the moment). Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression! Hornets (Vespa crabro) have orange/brown eyes and hairs [http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/hornets.htm], whereas the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) have black hair and eyes. [http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder....lgaris/vespula _vulgaris.htm] If you see a black and yellow thing that's as big as a hornet it's probably a queen wasp. What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that fairly well. |
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