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Hummingbird Hawkmoth | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Macroglossum stellatarum

InsectaGardens, meadows, dry slopes and any flower-rich open ground

Field profile

A day-flying hawkmoth that hovers at flowers with a long proboscis, producing an audible hum. It is frequently mistaken for a hummingbird. Larvae feed on bedstraws, and adults migrate substantial distances northward each summer.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-12-04

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

A moth that hovers like a bird it never met

The hummingbird hawkmoth hovers at flowers, hums audibly and darts between blooms, and is routinely reported as a hummingbird. No hummingbird has ever lived in Europe. The resemblance is convergence on the same physical problem.

Read with evidence →