12/07/2026
We had a special visitor in the garden today — the Hummingbird Hawk‑moth, a tiny powerhouse that really does behave like its namesake bird. This small, day‑flying moth migrates to the UK each summer from Southern Europe and North Africa, arriving in varying numbers between May and September, especially along southern coastlines.
It’s famous for its 80‑beats‑per‑second wing speed, which blurs its orange underwings into a bright flash as it hovers expertly at flowers. With its long, curled proboscis — like a strand of black liquorice — it drinks from nectar rich flowers such as lavender, red valerian, and other garden favourites, often along woodland edges, heathland, and scrubby margins.
Females lay their eggs on bedstraw, the food plant for their caterpillars, choosing buds and flowers where the young can feed safely.
A fleeting visitor, but always a spectacular one.