What is it? Is it a bug? No matter what it is, this thing with beating wings will make you look twice. The hummingbird moth is here. It’s one of the most interesting bugs (yes, it’s a bug!) you can find in a yard. Here are ten interesting facts:
10 Interesting Facts About Hummingbird Moth
Here are 10 interesting things about the hummingbird moth.
1. Hummingbird moth is a popular name for the genus Hemaris, which includes the Hummingbird Hawk-Moth, Sphinx moth, popular Clearwing Hummingbird moth, Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird moth, Five-Spotted Hawkmoth, and White-Lined Sphinx.
2. The tomato or tobacco hornworm crawler that eats your tomato plants will change into a Hawk moth or a Sphinx moth, both hummingbird moths.
3. The moths in the 1991 movie The Silence of the Lambs were death’s head hawk moths, which are a type of hummingbird moth in the genus Hemaris and belong to the moth family Sphingidae. IMDb says that the moths were treated like famous people. “They flew first class and stayed in a special place.”
4. The fast-moving hummingbird moth has wings that beat up to 70 times per second, which lets it fly up to 12 miles per hour.
5. Instead of a beak like a hummingbird, it has a long tongue-like proboscis that rolls out of its coiled tube to get to the juice deep inside flowers. The moth’s mouth is about twice as long as its body.
6. It has big, scary eyes that make it look like it wants enemies to stay away. It also stays safe from possible enemies because it looks more like a bird than a bug.
7. They are between 2 and 2.5 inches long and have gray hair that looks like feathers. There may be white, rust, or brown spots or marks on them. Their wings can be anywhere from 2 to 6 inches long, depending on the species. The wings of the Snowberry Clearwing moth are clear.
8. The hummingbird moth lives in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. In the US, they live in many different places, from Texas and Florida to Maine and Alaska.
9. The female moth lays her eggs on the leaves of plants like honeysuckle, cherries, hawthorns, and viburnums. The caterpillar eats its mother bush or vine after it hatches.
10. During the day, these moths feed on the nectar of flowers, but you might also see one eating at dusk on night-blooming flowers like the evening primrose or night-blooming jasmine.
Bottom Line
The hummingbird moth is a unique bug that looks like a bird and has other interesting qualities. From its fast wing beats to its long proboscis and mesmerizing eyes, this bug shows that nature’s works can often surprise us and make us wonder at the variety of life around us. Stay connected to this page Current Online for more related information.