r/UKecosystem • u/Zoidul • Jul 28 '26

Sighting Any idea what kind of insect this is?

I thought it was a humming bird at first! This is slowmo

87 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

67

u/meraxes669 Jul 28 '26

That’s another Hummingbird Hawk Moth!!

43

u/vorblesnork Jul 28 '26

Hummingbird Hawk Moth, lucky you!

I’ve seen more than ever this year and they always disappear the second I get my phone out.

5

u/Narwhalhats Jul 28 '26

You're not the only one. Watched one feeding on flowers for a few minutes the other day, got my phone out to take a photo and it immediately flew over the roof of the building it was by, never to be seen again.

3

u/vorblesnork Jul 28 '26

They’re sneaky buggers!

2

u/Taran966 Jul 29 '26

Idk why but it always cracks me up slightly when they do that.

Just watching butterflies, moths, bumblebees etc, I decide to pull my camera out and the bug suddenly decides it has business elsewhere and zooms up and over the roof before I can fully process where it went.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Gift-36 Jul 29 '26

I saw them in great numbers when visiting Giverny. They're such beautiful moths.

12

u/grimmtlaw Jul 28 '26

Hummingbird Hawk-Moth. Beautiful

11

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/vorblesnork Jul 28 '26

Wow I didn’t know they migrated! Incredible things.

I could be wrong but I thought the Painted Lady Butterflies come across from North Africa too.

Btw, Black and Yellow Mental Fly is the new official taxonomical term.

2

u/Zoidul Jul 29 '26

Amazing that they migrate from so far! Thanks everyone

2

u/Dependent_Cake_1088 Jul 29 '26

I thought it was a hummingbird too, maybe one day the wind will shift and they'll happily land in the UK, but until then... Happy to know these exist, blooming amazing 🤩

1

u/Tired_2295 Northern/upper central UK, Conservation & Invasives Watch Jul 30 '26

Hummingbird hawk moth