The rapidly flapping wings of these moths mean that they do not only look and act as the hummingbirds, but make the similar humming sound as well! Commonly, the wingspan of a hummingbird moth is around 1.6-1.8 inches, although one of the species, namely the White-lined Sphinx, boasts of a larger wingspan (2-3 inches). The flapping motion of their wings are not as fast as that of the hummingbirds, still it is pretty fast and is enough to make them hold their position while they are hovering over and seeping nectar off the flowers. Now, hummingbird moths have similarly strong wings. So, when they hover over flowers, their wings are flapping so rapidly that it is impossible to have a clear view of the wings with naked eyes. Hummingbirds, as many of you may know, can beat their wings more than 80 times per second. In general, these moths, just like hummingbirds, have extremely strong wings and are able to seep nectar from flowers while hovering over them. However, all these species have many things in common (which is why they are all called hummingbird moths, after all!). Well, as with hummingbirds themselves, there are different species of hummingbird moths as well (more on that later). How close is a hummingbird moth to an actual hummingbird? So, by dint of mimicking a bird, they are able to stay relatively safe from the predators and are able to ensure the survival of the species. On top of that, their colorful appearance, no matter how pleasing to the human eye, is not good at all as camouflage. This makes them more vulnerable to predators. First of all, unlike most species of moths, the hummingbird moths are diurnal rather than nocturnal species. Put more plainly, it is as a survival mechanism that hummingbird moths have evolved as a species so closely mimicking the looks and functions of the hummingbirds. To get somewhat technical, this convergence is the cause of homoplasy whereby two creatures from different families and orders come to develop analogous structures that perform the same functions as well.
Facts about the Hummingbird Moth Convergence evolutionįirst of all, this strange resemblance between an insect and a bird has come to take place courtesy an evolutionary phenomenon known as convergent evolution. Indeed, nature works in strange ways and the hummingbird moths are a fascinating example of this! Two creatures from two different species with entirely different lineages and yet they come to resemble each other so much not only in looks, but in behavior, feeding habits and other things as well, and this is simply awesome! So, below are some interesting facts about hummingbird moths that may help you to better understand as also appreciate this strange phenomenon of nature. Quite a few backyard birders are wildly enthusiastic about hummingbirds-the tiniest birds in the world, but what about the hummingbird moths? It will be interesting to hear from the hummingbird lovers if they ever saw a hummingbird moth seeping nectar from the hummingbird feeder hung at their backyard.Īt this point, however, one cannot help but wonder whether too many of us would actually be able to spot a hummingbird moth even if we saw one and not mistake it as an actual hummingbird! Yes, these insects look so much like their avian namesakes that unless you are looking from really close quarters, it is incredibly difficult to differentiate the two. Facts, images, videos & species information is included in this article.
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In this category "Hummingbird" we have 114 free PNG images with transparent background.Hummingbird Moth Facts – everything you need to know about the hummingbird moth species.
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In this sub category you can download free PNG images: Hummingbird Animals. To conserve energy in scarcity of food, and nightly when not foraging, they can go into a state similar to hibernation called torpor, slowing their metabolic rate to 1/15th of its normal rate. Hummingbirds, out of all the homeothermic animals, have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate. Apart from that, some species can even dive at speeds in excess of 22 m/s or 79 km/h (49 mph). Their top speeds exceed 15 m/s or 54 km/h (34 mph) out of those species that have been measured in wind tunnels. They hover in mid-air at rapid rates of flapping their wings, which vary from about 12 beats per second in the largest species, to 80 excess in some of the smallest. They are called hummingbirds because of the humming sound that is generated by their beating wings, which flap at frequencies high enough to be audible to humans. The smallest extant bird species is 5 cm or 2.0 inches in size and is known as bee hummingbird, which weighs less than even 2.0 g. They are the smallest of birds as most the size of the species varies from 7.5–13 cm, that is, 3–5 inches in length. Hummingbirds are birds which belong to the biological family Trochilidae and are native to North and South America.
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