Friday, July 16, 2010

What's that flying around my butterfly bushes?

Ever seen one (or more) of these creatures?

I hadn't until a few years ago.  We've had the butterfly bushes for 7 years (a gift for our first anniversary), but didn't start seeing these creatures until the bushes were a few years old.  When I first saw them, I thought they looked like flying lobsters.  I think it was my mom who informed me that they are Hummingbird Moths.  And I believe these would be the "clear wing" variety.  As you might guess from their nickname, most people think they're baby hummingbirds at first.  I don't have much of a zoom lens (55mm) so it was hard to get good detail on them, since they'd fly to another flower when I tried to get close enough for a macro shot. But I think you get the idea. I love to watch them flit around from flower to flower.  Not sure where they came from or how they found our bushes, but I'm glad they did.

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