A Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Macroglossum stellatarum, nectaring on what I think is a Lantana flower. Photographed in the grounds of Cortijo el Indiviso in Cádiz province, right in the south of Spain near the town of Vejer de la Frontera.
As I have never seen it in Scotland – although they are annual migrants here, usually in small numbers – I was at first bemused as to what it could be. Was it a Bee? Not on a second glance. Was it a Bee Hummingbird? No, that’s in Cuba. Is there a Hummingbird Bee? Then I remembered that there’s an insect called a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, which I looked up and that’s what ‘my’ insect transpired to be.
The Hummingbird Hawk-moths which visit the British Isles in summer originate from the south of France. Normally, they are unable to survive British winters, but sometimes overwinter in particularly mild winters. Some breed in the UK, so there is a peak number of them seen in late Summer.
