Faux H-bird

July 24, 2019  •  1 Comment

Next month, I have a public walk coming up at one of my favorite "gardens": Avalonia's Preston Nature Preserve. Without seeming too compulsive—I'd prefer to think of it as super-well-organized—I decided to pay PNP a visit this glorious late afternoon to see how the wildflowers were doing. The first of the wild Bee Balms were in exquisite bloom, and, to my everlasting delight, the flowers were being visited by both Monarch butterflies and Snowberry Clearwing Sphinx moths. Hemaris diffinis, as this hummingbird mimic is known to entomologists, is a gem that can fly backwards and forwards, as well as hover in front of blossoms, as it sticks its long, coiled-at-rest tongue down tubelike flowers in search of nectar. I am always on the lookout for h-bird moths, and I'll even risk exposure to ticks lurking in grassy meadows—most of PNP is essentially one large grassland—to spot, watch, and photograph these amazing insects. Happily, I got the shot... and didn't wind up at risk for yet another bout of Lyme Disease.


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Jane(non-registered)
WOW!!!
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