On the afternoon of August 22, photography enthusiast Huang Jun saw several strange-looking insects flying in the flowers in the Hundred Flowers Lane of Xingmeng Township, Tonghai County, and Huang Jun hurriedly used his camera to take a picture of these cute little insects staying and playing among the flowers.
The insects photographed by Huang Jun resemble bees, with a body length only the size of a peanut, an earthy yellow on the front half of the back, a brown tail, and a mixed white. He recalled that its wings were like butterflies, and its tail wings, like birds, swung constantly, making a clear humming sound, and its body hovered in the air, staying on the same flower for a moment, and then "buzzing" a sound flew to another flower, very fast. The head has two swollen antennae with large tips, and a beak tube about two centimeters long is inserted into the flower to suck nectar, which looks like a hummingbird at first glance.
Subsequently, Huang Jun identified the pictures taken by the software on the mobile phone, and it can be preliminarily concluded that it is a hummingbird eagle moth, which is an insect of the genus Offidae, known as the "four unlikes" in the insect world, and is a relatively rare moth in China. Its natural enemies are birds, which are easily eaten by birds that prey on during the daytime larval stage. The hummingbird hawk moth is often mistaken for a hummingbird by the general public, which moves during the day like a butterfly and is an "outlier" among the moths that often appear at night. Hummingbird hawk moths can quickly vibrate their wings in the flower bush, up to 25 to 30 times per second, and the insect body wingspan is about 50 mm, which is considered a "close relative" of butterflies. It has expanded tentacles with tips, and eats nectar like a bee in a hundred flowers, making a humming sound. But unlike butterflies, it flies fast and has a cocoon habit; unlike bees, flowers are not carried with powder, honey is not brewed, and can be eaten in the air; unlike birds, they can both advance and retreat when flying.
Hummingbird hawk moth is mainly distributed in Asia, Southern Europe, North Africa and North America, which is rare in China, if it appears, it indicates that the local environment is good. Nowadays, the Hundred Flowers Lane in Xingmeng Township, Tonghai County, has begun to take shape, and the 800-meter-long alley is full of flowers, providing favorable conditions for its survival.
Reporter Li Chunli Correspondent Huang Jun Photographic report