#HUMMINGBIRD MOTH SERIES#

These white objects are pupal cases of tiny wasps that parasitize hornworms and control their numbers. If you find hornworms covered with small white capsules, donвЂ™t be alarmed. Other species are marked differently and may have different colored horns. When alarmed, hornworms erect themselves in a stiff, sphinx-like pose - hence the general name of this group of moths.ДЄ tomato hornworm has eight V-shaped white marks on its sides, and its horn is black. Though the spine looks like a stinger, itвЂ™s quite harmless. The caterpillars are called hornworms because of the fleshy, spine-like вЂњhornвЂќ that projects upward from the rear end of the body.

#HUMMINGBIRD MOTH SERIES#

A series of five or six bright orange spots on each side of the abdomen helps identify them. Tomato hornworms, those fat, green, fleshy caterpillars that eat tomatoes and their leaves, eventually transform into five-spotted hawk-moths.ДЄdult tomato hornworms are large, gray moths with wingspans of about four inches. The other common local species is known by the name of its caterpillar and is probably more familiar to readers who garden.

Its heavy brown body tapers to a point at each end and has a series of dark bands across its abdomen. The white-lined sphinx has a long white line extending the length of its front wings and a rosy colored stripe across the rear wing. And its transparent naked wings are obvious. If I approach slowly and use binoculars, I can see its proboscis uncoil as it approaches each flower. Others are larger, but still smaller than hummers.Д¬learwing hummingbird moths are among the smallest of these fascinating insects. One is small with a body thatвЂ™s only about an inch long. Several species are likely to be seen locally. The вЂњbeakвЂќ is actually a long, flexible tube (the proboscis) that stays coiled under the head when the moth is not feeding. In return for the meal, sphinx moths pollinate flowers. Many are active at dusk and after dark, when they sip nectar from tubular flowers that remain open at night. Hummingbird moths hover at flowers and sip nectar through a long unfurled proboscis.ДЄbout 100 species of sphinx moths inhabit North America. If it has antenna, itвЂ™s an insect, not a bird. Most report that itвЂ™s fuzzy, looks like a bee, has antenna, and a long beak. Every summer readers send me detailed descriptions and photos of strange hummingbird-like creatures. Hummingbird moths are a type of sphinx moth. ItвЂ™s smaller, but it flies like a hummingbird and feeds like a hummingbird. When you scan a group of hummingbirds carefully, you might notice that one looks a little different. But if you do, you might miss a real treat. Where a month ago, I had four or five hummers coming to my feeders, that number has now swelled to 10 to 12.ДЄnd if it turns out to have been a good year for hummers, I might see as many as 20 to 25 draining my feeders every day.ДЄfter a few days of seeing so many hummers at feeders and flowers, itвЂ™s easy to take them for granted. Juvenile hummingbirds began leaving their nests about two weeks ago, so activity at my nectar feeders has surged.