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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Re: What is this animal that hovers like a hummingbird and eats nectar from plants?
« on: 24/06/2008 04:46:37 »
Regarding the hummingbird hawkmoth: I was returning home this evening around 10:45 PM, when I noticed this strange tiny flying creature hovering above some of my flowering plants. I pulled my car into the driveway turning the wheel to enter my garage. I immediately stopped my car and walked around the front towards the mulchbed. I was approximately 3 feet in distance from this little "thing". It resembled a hummingbird, but upon closer examination I noticed it looked more like a some type of flying insect. It was really quite creepy. I tried to take a picture with my cell phone, to no avail. The "little thing" hung aroud for about 45 seconds before flying off into the darkenss. The illumination of my front yard lamp post aided in my observation. I couldn't understand why a hummingbird would be feeding so late in the evening. I immediately went into the house and told my husband what I had seen. He was sure it wasn't a hummingbird, so I grabbed my laptop and started investigating. I'm 99.9% certain the creature I observed was the Hummingbird Hawkmoth. The one I observed closely resembles the night photo on the web site. The color was quite similiar to the one I saw as well. How facinating! Are they rare? Have others been spotted in Northern Virginia? Does anyone know? [] I'm certainly happy to have found this site! ~Stephanie Rebellino, Gainesville, Va