Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum
(Linnaeus, 1758)Wingspan 40-50 mm.
An immigrant species which sometimes occurs in large numbers. A large influx occurred in the summer of 2000, when moths were observed in parks and gardens all over Britain. The species is again quite common in 2006.
It flies in the sunshine and hovers in front of flowers, sipping the nectar with its long proboscis, very much like the hummingbird which gives it its name.
The larvae feed on bedstraw (Galium), and some of these may hatch and give rise to autumn adults in an influx year.