Hummingbird Hawkmoth

This is the closest we get to seeing a wild hummingbird in Europe and they’re a worthy alternative in my opinion. 

It’s amazing to see these quite large moths flitting about supping nectar with their long proboscis and finally I saw the one at the allotment at the same time as having my bigger camera with me!

Their numbers appear to have increased this year. I’ve been seeing photos of them spotted across the country. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen one previously, but this year I’ve seen them in three separate locations. These photos are on the buddleia on the HAHA Wildlife Plot - Google Album 2022. In fact the two that I’ve seen on buddleia bushes are probably the same two as they memorise a nectar source and return to it regularly.

Their eggs are laid in bedstraws (a plant family which includes goose grass) which the caterpillars eat, though I’m not sure there’s much of that on the allotment site. British winters tend to be too cold for most to survive so the majority of moths that we see are migrants from Southern France.

Now, you may be thinking that these aren’t great photos, and all I’ll say in response is ‘thank goodness for digital cameras!’. They’re really tricky to photograph so there were plenty of blurred photos to choose from 🤭

I should add, it's no problem to any of our allotment plants.