Hummingbird Moth

On occasion, people have been fooled into thinking large moths, such as this one, are hummingbirds. Hence the name.

In reality, a whole family of moths, more properly called Sphinx Moths are loosely referred to as Hummingbird Moths. This specimen, Hemaris diffinis, is one of the smallest of the family with a wingspan of about 4 cms or a bit more than 1.5 inches. While no hummingbird, it still makes for a pretty big moth. Larger members of the family range up to two and half times larger!

 

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