Hummingbird moth

It's a bird, it's a plane - No it's a moth

The Question

I spotted a bird in our flowers. Smaller than a hummingbied. black striped body double wings and a white stripe over the eyes. I did see it last year on our flowers last year about this same time. Do you have any idea what this is. A bird or a insect of some sort. I could not see the beak but it never stopped fluttering just like a hummingbird. - Sandra, Los Angeles

My Answer

You have been visited by what most people call a Hummingbird Moth. Those little feathers out of place on the top of its head are not feathers, they are antenna. Another clue that it is a hummingbird moth is if the creature allows you to get closer to get a second look without giving you an earful and zipping away at the speed of light, it is probably a hummingbird moth. Also, if it has brown striping or yellow and black striping along its back (and it's not a bumble bee), again it's most likely a hummingbird moth.

The hummingbird moth belongs to the family of moths technically call the Sphingidae family or Sphinx family of moths. A hummingbird moth can be considered to be a medium to large moth with a wingspan of five or more inches. They tend to fly strong and fast like a hummingbird with a rapid wing beats. The hummingbird moth is usually active at dusk. However, they have been known to be active throughout the day traveling from flower to flower returning to the same flower beds at about the same time each day. This insect pollinates many popular garden flowers which form tube-like organs containing nectar. The hummingbird moth will feed on a flower much like a hummingbird, but instead of a beak and tongue to lap the nectar, they have little straws to sip the nectar from a flower. These little straws are called a proboscis.

Enjoy your visitor John

John Gardner
The Backyard Birder