Hummingbird hawk moth

Spotted in the National Botanical Garden of Georgia in Tbilisi was a hummingbird hawk moth. The hummingbird hawk moth (Macroglossum stellatrarum) is from the Sphingidae family of moths. It looks like a tiny hummingbird because it hovers around plants.

It can be found in Europe and Asia, from Portugal to Japan, especially in summer, but is resident in warm climates of southern Europe.

They begin as pale green round eggs and hatch 6-8 days after laying. One female hummingbird hawk moth can lay up to 200 eggs. The hatched larvae are yellow then turn into green caterpillars, usually after about 20 days.

The hummingbird hawk moth has brown forewings with black lines and orange-yellow hind wings with a black edge. The wingspan is 4 to 4.5 centimetres (1.6 to 1.8 inches). The abdomen is broad with a short fan-tail. It has a long proboscis (sucking nose), which it inserts into flowers to suck up the nectar. Like a hummingbird, it makes a slight humming sound.

Unlike most moths, the hummingbird hawk moth flies during the day time, and likes bright sunshine, but is does also fly at dawn and dusk.

Hummingbird hawk moths are considered to be a lucky omen.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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