What an amazing creature is the Hummingbird Moth. I’ll never forget where I was when I spied one for the first time. It was “buzzing” around my woodland retreat. I literally chased it around my flower beds all day. Capturing it, on camera, was a chore. Fast and shy are these delicate natural copy-cat marvels.

I felt like I was privilege to something very uncommon. That is, until I looked them up and found them to be the opposite. The above photos were marked July 22nd in my archives. Your best chance to notice them is knowing that they exist. They drink nectar from flowers with the same straw-like tongue as butterflies. They especially like berry bushes in bloom and I believe it is safe to assume, they are pollinators too. Unlike most moths, they are out among the flowers on warm, bright, sunny days.

It is exceptionally easy to mistake them for hummingbirds. That fact gives them some protection from predators like bats and birds.

There are so many delights to find when we take a close look at nature first-hand. I posted the video (that I found) of one, for a real show.

 hairs from the end of the abdomen look a lot like feathers. The wings of this moth are mostly clear, sometimes with some red near the body.