Hummingbird Moth Spotted Along West Ponce
Decatur Metro | August 24, 2010
This is INCREDIBLE. Another Decatur Walker writes in…
I was walking along West Ponce after dark the last Friday in July, and as I approached Decatur CD, I saw two people staring intently at the flowers out front. When I asked what they were watching, one replied, “A hummingbird.” Having never seen a hummingbird feed at night, I thought that was unlikely, but the creature’s wings were beating so rapidly and the body shape was so close to a hummingbird’s that I did a double-take myself. I’d read about moths that have a long proboscis specifically suited to deep-throated flowers and concluded that must be what we were seeing but had no idea they were found locally. Luckily I had a camera with a flash with me and quickly took a few pictures, hoping I could capture a clear enough image to identify the moth at home. (We confirmed we were watching a moth after it eventually took a break from feeding to rest on a nearby tree.) When I asked the other people watching the moth where I could send pictures if any turned out, one of the women said, “What about Decatur Metro?” I had more success than I expected given the moth’s quick movements, so here are a few pictures to share with your readers (and I hope the others who witnessed this amazing creature in action). Note that moth was actually in motion in all pics except one on tree.
Of course, I searched the web when I got home and found that what we’d seen was some variety of the hummingbird moth. (One woman – a teacher, I think – mentioned that possibility but wasn’t sure.) I didn’t find any web pictures that look exactly like the one we saw, but the hummingbird hawk moth is very close in appearance.
Two more pics after the jump!
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Neat!!
I saw one at the Intown Ace about a month ago but it was much smaller and more colorful….looked very much like a butterly.
Incredible! This is why it is good to slow down and take a look around us.
Thanks for posting the pictures! I was one of the women who was watching the moth when the man with the camera arrived. I’m so glad to have the mystery solved because the moth moved and fed like a hummingbird and was of a similar size, but it didn’t make the distinctive buzzing noise of a hummingbird.
Glad one of you suggested sending pictures to Decatur Metro!
ooh, looks like Manduca rustica, aka rustic sphynx moth [and someone please correct me if I'm wrong!]
This little video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15PgWtk0wCc) talks about them in the context of their lives in Colorado but this species is a Georgia native as well (http://www.georgiabutterflies.com/id131.html).
The larvae get huge and have a distinctive horn also shared by the evil tomato-munching five-spotted hawkmoth (known as the tomato hornworm when in its hooligan phase)
p.s.
it looks like that one was feeding on four o’ clocks, which are fragrant at night. Just like the video says!
Thanks, Cat.
The pattern on the moth’s back in the picture on the tree does look very close to that of the sphinx moth on this page: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3365. That page also shows they’ve been recorded in north Georgia.
Forgot to add that “hummingbird moth” is apparently used to refer to both sphinx moths and hawk moths – http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Pests/hummingb.htm.
Wow, this post is so great! Thank you.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
Even though they aren’t exactly moths, I have noticed a huge amount of butterflies in our garden. Anyone else having this nice type of invasion?