Guess who's come to visit?

There are some insects that I really enjoy and the hummingbird hawk moth is near the top of the list. When you see them close up, they are more like an animated stuffed toy. In a classic case of parallel evolution they, like hummingbirds, can hover, or fly backward or sideways. They feed without touching down.



They do dart around though, so it's not easy to see quite how they do it. Today I thought sod it. You can't get cheaper than digital when it comes to banging off hundreds of shots. So with the sun out and hawk moths much in evidence around the lavender, I put my Canon into manual and click-click mode and banged away hoping that some images would be in focus.

Well, as luck and repetition would have it, some were, including quite a few shots of lavender without moths - well I said they were quick.

The proboscis is surprisingly long. Maybe this keeps them out of harm's way while they feed. I've got a shot of one curling it up between feeds. I hope you enjoy the images as much as I do. As per, click on an image for a larger view.