Haidu News (Reporter Lei Chaoliang/Wen Correspondent Luo Chunshou/Photo) Have you ever seen a moth like a butterfly, like a bird, and like a bee? Recently, when the staff of Fujian Longqi Mountain National Nature Reserve carried out daily monitoring in the wild, they photographed a rare elf - hummingbird eagle moth.
The little guy hovers between the camellias and sucks in the nectar
According to Luo Chunshou, chief of the science and technology section of the General Le longqi Mountain Nature Reserve Management Bureau, who photographed the elf, told reporters that at that time, the hummingbird eagle moth was collecting honey in the camellia forest. At first, looking at the appearance and listening to the sound, he thought it was an ordinary bee, and when he looked closely, he found that its body length was about 5 centimeters, much larger than the average bee, flying very fast, and could also be suspended in place for feeding, so it was determined that this was a hummingbird eagle moth.
Hummingbird eagle moth is an insect of the genus Long-beaked moth of the family Mothidae, known as the "four unlikes" in the insect world. They look like butterflies, moving during the day like butterflies, with long beak tubes, expanded antennae with large tips, and colorful, beautiful and dazzling wings.
They resemble bees, flying through the flowers in summer and autumn to collect nectar and make a clear and audible buzzing sound. They are also like the hummingbirds of South America, which lie out at night and rarely rest, and when they feed, they are like hummingbirds, sometimes circling between the flowers, sometimes galloping in front of the flowers.
It is reported that the hummingbird hawk moth is a "close relative" of the butterfly family, with a wingspan of about 50 mm. Unlike the butterfly, it has a thick abdomen, this insect in addition to a pair of tentacles and no feathers on the wings than hummingbirds, regardless of weight, shape or life habits, flight speed are very similar to hummingbirds, so it is named hummingbird eagle moth by biologists.
Luo Chunshou said that the hummingbird hawk moth is distributed in Asia, southern Europe and North Africa. Due to its unique physiological properties, it is rare in northern China. Its appearance shows that the local environment is better, and there are a large number of plants and flowers, which provide favorable conditions for its survival.
Editor: Linyong Chen