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! Read the rest of this entry »