I love all kinds of flying things: birds, bats, dragonflies, damselflies, hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths. This one is a beauty:
At first, we thought it was a superfast bumble bee or small hummingbird when it zoomed past us. It is a hummingbird moth, or Nessus Sphinx, Amphion nessus. These photos were the best of a dozen I took; most of them were too blurry for the wing markings to be visible.
And just like the butterflies, it LOVES lantana flowers!
Hi Robin! Love your photos. I'm a fan of all things outdoors. I live in Oregon on the coast and am so amazed that hummingbirds winter here, mild though the winters are. When hiking our coastal forest, I enjoy finding banana slugs and newts and lobster mushrooms. What a world we live in. Thanks for your post.
I'm a newbie to Active Rain and so enjoying everything about the group.
Hope in Florence, OR
Hi, Hope:
"Banana slugs" and "lobster mushrooms"?! Wow. I guess some creatures can only be described with the names of other creatures that they resemble.
Welcome to Active Rain! You can learn stuff AND have fun here. Kinda like Sesame Street for real estate.
Cheers,
Robin
Hi, Fran:
Did you see my hummingbird show in the previous blog post? I had up to 12 of them visiting three feeders for a couple of weeks in late August. The count is usually 3, now down to the lone female.
They're pretty cool customers. If you just sit or stand still for a while, they will hover in front of you and check you out, and then head right over to the feeder.
Cheers,
Robin
Hi, David / Terrilynn / Rosario / Deborah:
Here is a website with some gorgeous photos of hummingbird moths and information about them:
http://whatsthatbug.com/clearwing_moth.html
There's even one of "my" hummingbird moth--perched on a lantana flower, of course!
Luna moths are indeed beautiful. Moths are usually more subtly colored (not to say drab) than butterflies, but the Luna is an exception.
Cheers,
Robin
Hey Robin - I'm a little behind on my comment but better late then not at all. Your pictures are great; we'll have to watch for some this spring. Thanks for sharing and hope you have a good 2008.
Carl
Hill Country Inspector
Hi, Carl:
Thanks for stopping by. I will keep my eyes open for hummingbird moths among other pretty things that will soon be appearing in my garden!
Cheers,
Robin
Robin:
Great pictures, Truly amazing, I love to watch nature. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Alan! Glad you liked the pix.
And thanks, too, Liz--the distance does seem to be shorter now between Houston and San Antonio. I have a couple of clients looking to return to San Antonio (actually Canyon Lake) from the Woodlands when they retire in a couple of years.
I'll stop by your blog,
Robin
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