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Project Noah Nature School
Macroglossum stellatarum
This species, belonging to the family Sphingidae, has a wingspan of some 4 to 5 cm. Forewings are dark brown and hind wings mainly orange with dark base and margin - which is difficult to distinguish while in flight. Short and seemingly plump body, brown in color, with black and white patterns on abdomen. It has long proboscis
This species is a familiar day-flying moth, most often seen in flowering gardens, using its long proboscis to extract nectar from flowers. Without surprise, this was the case here, we spotted this fella while visiting the arboretum in Trsteno (one of the beautiful villages on Dubrovnik Riviera). The arboretum is also home to a beautiful flowering garden, hosting number of pollinating insects.
The way this moth feeds on flowers justify largely its name: it hovers in stationary flight over the flowers, while sucking the nectar with its long proboscis... It really reminded me of a hummingbird. And it finishes the job quickly - which made him or her a real nightmare to photograph...
Spotted on Jul 7, 2015
Submitted on Aug 24, 2015
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