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Wildlife Garden

ID on hummingbird like bug?

flowersandthings

18 years ago

Hi since I don't think or know if this bug is a pest I'll post on the wildlife forum instead! (no sense in insulting a harmless or beneficial? bug) I saw the most unusual bug and was just wondering what it was.... it resembles a tiny tiny hummingbird but was too small for that. It was about bumble bee size. The wings were in constant motion (as it flew) and looked like a hummingbirds.... it also had a pointed "snout" or beak like looking thing that curled (a little?) at the end. Is there some bug that looks like a hummingbird? It was hard to tell color since it was moving so fast but it looked mostly blackish.... :)

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Comments (21)

Elly_NJ
18 years ago
It's most likely a Sphinx, or Hummingbird, moth.

It pollinates flowers as it drinks the nectar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbird moth
flowersandthings
Original Author
18 years ago
Yeah that's what it is.... look how cute! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1347658}}
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I've already tossed the soil from the affected plants, but if I lose another, I'll try to grit my teeth long enough to get pictures. :) As it stands... Shiny gray, no sign of segmented shell that I could see (i.e. they didn't look like "roly-polies" though they were close to the same color), about 1/8 inch long and half as wide, fast-moving with a six-legged crawler gait (i.e., not like a grub, a gnat or the eight-legged mite clan). No antennae that I could see in the brief glimpse I had. And I've realized that I miscounted -- I've only lost four cacti, I'm just expecting to lose a fifth for probably-unrelated reasons (roots badly damaged in transplanting and not re-growing well). Of the four I've lost, one was a plant that I've had for a couple of years in a humus-based potting mix (Hyponex), one was a recent acquisition in a commercial cactus mix, the other two were in modified 5-1-1 (ground fir bark in place of peat). The one with root problems at the moment is also in that same 5-1-1. It's certainly possible that there's something wrong with my watering method, or in the case of the younger ones that I screwed up something when transplanting...
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The only way I know to kill these nasty grubs organically is to slice open the stalk and pull them out and kill as you please...I personally like to squish them or drown them (I examine my squash plants daily for squash bugs and always have a container with soapy water in my hand to drown them in). If the borer grub hasn't done too much damage to the plant, it will survive. I look for signs of them near the bottom of the stalk...looks like sawdust where the grub bored into it. Then I take a knife or razor blade (and sometimes my fingernail) and slice open the stalk vertically, grab the grub, and kill it. I've only had one of my squash plants die from this...and that was because the borer had destroyed the inside stalk at least 2 1/2 inches. If I do not attempt to remove the borer grubs, the plant will die (as you have discovered), so at least by slicing the stalk and killing the grub I give my plants a chance. Good luck, and I feel your pain.
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Female rubythroat. It would be very rare to have any other kind of hummer in the Mid-Atlantic, although they do show up in very low numbers with some regularity. Female rubythroats lack the male's bright red throat.
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It's one of the scarab beetles....some of the most beautiful insects in the world. This one is called the Delta scarab...it's a flower beetle. Here is a link that might be useful: Delta scarab
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catherinet
18 years ago
I just love those things! I look forward to seeing them around my hosta flowers and clome every year. I find them mostly around dusk. Ain't nature grand?
dgower82
18 years ago
They love plants in the tomatoe family. Even though they can be a little damaging, I always leave the hornworms on the plants.
catherinet
18 years ago
dgower........what plants do you usually find the hummingbird moths' caterpillars on?
dgower82
18 years ago
tomatoes, brugmansia, and ground cherry
catherinet
18 years ago
They aren't those big tomato hornworms, are they????
dgower82
18 years ago
yep
catherinet
18 years ago
You're kidding! I guess I'll be a little more friendly to them now! Actually, I never kill them when I find them eating all my tomatoes, but I do remove them to the bushes. I like them much more as moths!
amy_z6_swpa
18 years ago
Yep, that is one of the clearwing moths. That is an AMAZING photo! Did you take it, flowersandthings?

The Sphingidae are some of my favorites. They are all so beautiful too.
flowersandthings
Original Author
18 years ago
Lol I wish no.... It was a photo I found through googling. I didn't have my camera when I saw it. I often am not quick enough with the wildlife. I also saw the cutest groundhog the other day that bolted (fast as he could which wasn't very fast!) when he saw me. :)
stuart_s
18 years ago
Just a few thing need clarification on this thread:
The hornworms you find on tomatoes turn into a sphinx moth called a Five-spotted Hawkmoth or they can be Carolina Sphinxs. The little hummingbird moths are called Clearwings (also sphinx moths), but the caterpillars eat viburnum, cherry, plum, honeysuckle or snowberry.
dgower82
18 years ago
Hey thanks for clarifing, I always thought it was the other way around.
catherinet
18 years ago
Thanks Stuart!
Keithincanton
18 years ago
This thread was a big help, many thanks to all! We just saw our first Hummingbird Moth at 8PM on 14July in our backyard in Canton, MI. The camera was not handy.
nettiescorner
18 years ago
We must be neighbors. I, too saw that moth yesterday in my yard, in Canton. It was near my petunias yesterday evening. I first thought it was a hummingbird. My mother-in-law insisted it was a baby hummingbird. But, hummingbirds do not have antenna. I got a pretty good look at it. It stayed around for a while and nearly hit me in the head. It was close enough to my ear to hear it buzzing. It sounded like a hummingbird, but, didn't quite move quick enough though. WOW. Nature is fantastic. I never knew that they existed.
dmilligan
18 years ago
I saw what I think was one of these yesterday (7/17/2005) in the flower garden. It was hanging around the buttefly bush.

I managed to catch him on the digital camera.

Here is a link that might be useful: Moth
Kaeljia
18 years ago
Does anyone know how long they live? I mean it looks so much like a hummingbird, it actually has a large body. Hard to think it could only live one season.
This is a good site for any ID for strange insects to be indentified. Hope it helps. The name is well harsh, but the information is very good.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pest Control Canada
User
18 years ago
Great little "bug". And yes, Nature sure is grand! These guys love my butterfly bushes.
zzzee_hotmail_com
15 years ago
It's not a hummingbird moth...still researching...maybe this photo link will help the experts...

Here is a link that might be useful:
dirtgirl
15 years ago
judging by the size of the flower next to this creature and by the stiletto-like appendage there, I am guessing what you have here is some kind of bee fly, although I have never seen one that amazing shade of reddish orange before.

anyone else...?

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