My rather unusual photo shows a hummingbird hawk-moth feeding with its long proboscis on a blossom of a butterfly tree (Buddleia davidii).
The moth, which is active during the day, has a wingspan of 36 to 50 millimeters and weighs about 0,3 grams. Its hovering behavior is accompanied by an audible humming noise. This makes it appear like a hummingbird. The darting movement from one flower to the next with the long proboscis uncoiled enhances the illusion of a hummingbird.
The hummingbird hawk-moth is a very strong flier with 85 wing beats per second. Because of its high speed and the fact, that it never keeps still, makes it a very difficult subject to photograph. Most of the images of yesterday’s attempt were blurred.