Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Speedy Hummingbird Moth

By: Tom Berg

The tiny hummingbird is familiar to most people around here, and these small birds can often be seen visiting flowers in our gardens. But another daytime visitor to the flower garden goes unseen by most of us.  It is the small but speedy hummingbird moth. These moths look very similar to hummingbirds, but they really are insects rather than birds. Hummingbird moths are unusual in that they are most active during the day rather than at night when most other moths are flying.

There are several species of hummingbird moths. Each of them are only a little more than half the size of most hummingbirds, usually measuring about two inches long. They have mostly clear wings with dark veins, and their bodies are colored yellow and black like a bumblebee. In fact, their coloration mimics the bumblebee on purpose in an attempt to discourage predators from attacking them. After all, bumblebees pack a painful punch in their stings and most predators avoid them.

Flowering plants like butterfly bush, bee balm, lilac, verbena, thistle, honeysuckle, violets and many others attract adult hummingbird moths. The moths use their long proboscis to feed on nectar from the flowers and they unknowingly pollinate them as they flit from plant to plant. Their swiftly beating wings even make the soft humming sound made by actual hummingbirds. Caterpillars of hummingbird moths often feed on the leaves of honeysuckle, cherry, snowberry, dogbane, plum, hawthorn and others.

Hummingbird moths are common and can be found throughout most of the USA. In the more northern states, there is usually only time for one generation per year. In the deep south, however, there can be two or more broods each season.

As the warm summer weather comes to an end this year, keep an eye out for the swift hummingbird moth around your flower gardens. These speedsters may resemble hummingbirds in their flying habits, but upon closer inspection you will see that they are really are moths.

Just be sure that the airborne insect you are watching is a moth and not a bumblebee!

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