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Author Topic: Wierd bug or was it an animal?  (Read 10480 times)

Offline SgtMaj

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Wierd bug or was it an animal?
« on: June 26, 2008, 07:21:41 am »
I saw a wierd bug/animal at the nursury the other day.  It was just a little larger than a large bumble-bee (which is what I thought it was at first).  But it flies just like a hummingbird, and it's back-side is squared off.  I got a pretty good look at it, and even though it never stopped flying I'm almost positive I saw tiny tail feathers, and I KNOW it used it's tail in flight for stability, just like a bird would.  It also used a straw to suck the nectar from the flowers... but the straw was like a butterfly's drinking straw... as in it curled up.  Didn't get a look at the wings because they were beating way too fast to see.

Anyone know what this could be?  Is it an insect or a super-tiny humming bird perhaps? 

Offline SgtMaj

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Re: Wierd bug or was it an animal?
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2008, 07:25:43 am »
You know what?  No sooner than I posted this, than I thought to try a different search term I hadn't used before, and I found it....

It's called a hummingbird moth... here's a pic that looks like the one I saw...

Offline MrILoveTheAnts

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Re: Wierd bug or was it an animal?
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2008, 01:38:23 pm »
Yep sounds like a Hummingbird moth. I believe they use our native honeysuckles as a host plant.

Offline Shawn

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Re: Wierd bug or was it an animal?
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2008, 03:07:49 pm »
Yeap, I saw one in my bee garden. It was using the cat mint quite a bit.

Offline qa33010

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Re: Wierd bug or was it an animal?
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2008, 01:30:06 am »
   Yep!  We have some here also.  When I first saw one I had the camera and thought it was some kind of hummingbird.  A friend of ours said probably a moth.  Sure enough! :)
Everyone said it couldn't be done. But he with a chuckle replied, "I won't be one to say it is so, until I give it a try."  So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin.  If he had a worry he hid it and he started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.  (unknown)

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Wierd bug or was it an animal?
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2011, 02:52:44 am »
Yeah, I see them all the time here.  I really enjoy them.  I caught this one last month hoping it might be a female and hoping I might be able to get some eggs from it.  No such luck, so I let it go.  Anybody know how to tell the males from the females?

Just before he/she went zooming off.