What you probably just saw was a Sphinx Moth. They can hover in midair like hummingbirds by using the same figure-eight wingbeat as hummingbirds. One stroke goes forward and a mirror-image stroke goes backward, returning the moth wings to position and leaving the moth with pure lift.
From Alaska-in-Pictures
From Caliso Learning
And a moth that actually looks (and moves) like a hummingbird:
From Silkmoths
The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth!
Spinx/Hummingbird moths:
These guys fly around pollinating plants in almost every continent in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment