Hovering over the bee balm this afternoon there was an imitator. Pretending to be as a hummingbird, appeared this Hummingbird Clearwing Sphinx Moth.
An unusual visitor at the manor, this hummingbird moth dined on the bright pink blossoms, moving in circular fashion around each flower. Such an unusual bug, one that I actually like.
It’s summertime, so keep an eye out on your blossoms. Perhaps one will grace your garden as well.
Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100-400mm IS L II. 1/1000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1600.
Categories: Nature
Emily Carter ~ Nature as Art 
oh wow i have never seen this before! Nature sure made one of everything eh?
Is that right Andy? I love sharing new things with you. And thanks for your wonderful compliment.
Thank YOU for sharing about it 🙂
Absolutely amazing shot as always 🙂 (sorry hit the send button too soon on the phone) 😀
This is beautiful! We have two or three flying around our mimosa trees; my photos aren’t nearly as sharp as this! Wonderful work, as always!
Is that right? Several of them? Lucky you !! It takes patience and a long lens to get these. 🙂 I got lucky he stuck around so I could take about 60 shots to get one. 🙂
pretty picture
Thank you San Jeet
Beautiful shot. These moths are a blur of motion–it’s a real challenge to get such a clear shot of their clear wings.
I agree Mike ! Now that is my next goal when I see one. It was cloudy, so not too much light to work with. Wish me luck!
What a beauty! We get the hummingbird hawkmoths in our garden. They are an amazing sight! Great picture!
You too? Are they different kinds? I find it so interesting for us to compare what we have on opposite sides of the pond. 🙂
A wonderfully sharp picture of a fascinating critter. The first time I saw one, I couldn’t believe my eyes!
Me neither ! Certainly faked me out thinking it was a hummingbird
The timing! I have never been able to shoot a sphinx moth, so I borrowed one for my post yesterday. Great shot there. Love these guys; just wish people weren’t intent on killing them before they become adults.
I didn’t know they were on people’s hit list. Wonder why? they aren’t bad bugs. I was so thrilled to find one in my yard.
The hornworm is a garden ‘pest.’ Most are not picky about which caterpillars are killed, just that they are. If only they knew what we know.
Stunning photograph!
Thank you so much Stephanie!
Lovely photo! I grew up in the south east of the UK. We don’t have hummingbirds in the UK, but in the south east corner we do get rare summer visits (more common now I believe, thanks to climate change) from the hummingbird hawkmoth. We all used to run to the garden when one arrived at my dad’s fuchsias on a warm summer evening 🙂
Is that right? That is really interesting David. I truly do appreciate your experience of what you see in your part of the world. It brings us together with similarities and differences.
Now I can see you running out in the evening chasing a bug. 🙂