Hey guys! This annoying cold I've got since Thursday has made me not want to do much, I cough like a donkey and @trumpman has been keeping me company by sneezing like crazy all day, yeah, we're having fun!

Anyways, This morning I got in the garden to see if my Nigma spider from [yesterday's photo-post](https://steemit.com/photography/@ruth-girl/playing-with-the-camera-green-araxni-stin-ayli-a-green-spider-in-my-garden) was still on the same plant, but unfortunately it seemed like she had left. I only found the remainings of that poor bee she was feasting on yesterday. 

But!
I was lucky enough to capture four lousy shots of a hummingbird hawk moth!!

### Check it out!!

---

![ruth-girl_steemit_hummingbird-hawk-moth (1).JPG](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmSxfxsxJZnUAy3TPztGh779aAofbMNxZHPqWfPJkZzNHH)

---

This cool insect is, as its name suggests, a moth! A super-fast flying critter that looks like a hummingbird, only it isn't.

You cannot imagine my excitement when I saw it fly past me and headed to my grandma's flowers! It has been visiting our garden for days, which seemed to me a bit odd, because autumn temperatures have lowered the insect population in our garden. This fellow would come, drink some tasty nectar from our flowers and vanish in no time! So, I saw it fly past me and ran towards the flowers that I knew it was heading to and *click, click, click, click* (literally), I got 4 whole pictures of it!

---

![ruth-girl_steemit_hummingbird-hawk-moth (2).JPG](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmS4YVzbfqZwSgEbhfkLsQmKtoj245eMvwcvqQrEkSV2qg)

---

I know they are not the best I could have taken, but this insect is freaking fast and I consider myself really lucky to have got even a mediocre to bad sample for my collection!

---

![ruth-girl_steemit_hummingbird-hawk-moth (3).JPG](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmdHXmifptVv3oeq6V8a7bD7Ec7CDEq189DJLWgW2MUVcX)

---

And I just realized that a pupa I had found in the garden about a month ago is, or better was, my flying Speedy Gonzalez model!

---

![ruth-girl_steemit_hummingbird-hawk-moth (5).JPG](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmSwABU6DqMJhBpdfqeuwtR1R3m1aS468M3sZWS1RKhEwo)

---

Is it normal to be so excited with my discoveries? Should I see a therapist or something? Is it that I'm getting old? Or is it that @trumpman gives me too many hits on the head?

---
---

### Some quick facts:

These insects feed on nectar, they use their long proboscis to sip from the plants they find and make a buzzing sound just like hummingbirds... only they are just cute moths. With their strong wings, they can fly as fast as 19 km/h, which ranks them among the fastest insects on the planet. They are relatively big, with a wingspan of almost 5 cm and live about 7 months in their adult stage.

The moths prefer bright, sunny days, although they seem to love rain as well. You can find them across Mediterranean countries and Central Asia. As cold temperatures are not their cup of tea, in winter they prefer warmer climates (places like Northern Africa). Hummingbird hawk moths make a great snack for birds, bats, owls, spiders and rodents. 

One of the facts that amazed me was that they have a very good memory, as they seem to be punctual on their daily date with the flowers they eat from. This, I can guarantee as I've been seeing my flying visitor around the same time every day.

If you want to know more about these moths, you can check out one of @trumpman's posts from a year ago:
[This Hummingbird Is Just So Weird! Can You Guess Why?](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@trumpman/this-hummingbird-is-just-so-weird-can-you-guess-why)

---

![ruth-girl_steemit_hummingbird-hawk-moth (4).JPG](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmPzKomLVbav6YPrXyRvzdSRbfRTvfgtkRZJiiiYUnZ13F)

---
---

### Photo-update, October 28th:

Today I got some cooler shots that I included in this post: [This Fall Refuses... To Fall (Sunday Photo-Poetry)](https://steemit.com/poetry/@ruth-girl/this-fall-refuses-to-fall-sunday-photo-poetry)

---

![ruth-girl_steemit_hummingbird-hawk-moth 2.JPG](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmPtzbTvxVk3BQsn6XoDJnj5nhZ14jLCVimmbXkTSyY1AG)

---

![ruth-girl_steemit_hummingbird-hawk-moth.JPG](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmWUByVfSjCyVF92DcfK6swjzttW9bWCcrMbNd1RtPxaWm)

---
---

### References
[1] [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_hawk-moth)
[2] [rspb.org.uk](https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/birdwatching/how-to-identify-birds/hummingbirds-and-hawkmoths/)
[3] [animalspot.net](http://www.animalspot.net/hummingbird-hawk-moth.html)

*Images (free for re-use if crediting the author) by @ruth-girl - Steemit, 2018*

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUsDx6pen1XAB66xGNezuiZ9RYoXEv9U98MqHzTxFV1dE/15.png)

### Can you spare another minute?

1) @steemstem has now got a witness running, the **[@stem.witness](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@steemstem/announcing-a-steemstem-witness-and-seed-node)**! We would really appreciate your vote. And you can always check out our app, **[steemstem.io](https://www.steemstem.io/)**!

2) **@aristotle.team** is the child of the Greek translation team (working for @davinci.witness and @utopian-io). We are launching a new app (@dimitrisp is on it!) to help us manage our workload and we have already set a curation trail to follow @davinci.vote on all translation contributions. Your follow, support and feedback is much appreciated!

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUsDx6pen1XAB66xGNezuiZ9RYoXEv9U98MqHzTxFV1dE/15.png)
## Thank you so much for your time!
Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!

![](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmdW8FAbTKfaQ7UbsyYQEsFRbukwfU7ZBxNwhgwQigqT79/4.gif)
<center> ![ruth-girl signature gif banner.gif](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmYCv9y1EzM6Vf7dYWmhX6Y1f8prwZ1ZQhsLutpaWZTDi9)
 </center>