Mysteries
These hot days seem to be very hospitable to all the small insects that visit my flowers. I spoke of the flutter-bys, (butterflies) and I think there are more of those on the Pentas every day. There are also two sizes of what appear to be Bumblebees. The larger ones are the type I am familiar with-ones I saw all over the fields and yard in New York state and Vermont enjoying the clover, both red and white. But here there are ones who look very much the same but are half the size. They may not be solitary bees as are the larger Bumblebees for there are always a large number of the smaller ones feeding together. I will have to do some research. (And No--they are not Honey or Sweat bees.)
Today I was thrilled to witness a Hummingbird moth sipping from both the Penta and the Geranium. So very much smaller than a Hummingbird, he is so similar in behavior that he might be mistaken for a young Hummingbird. When he settled for a moment I got the chance to examine him more closely and discovered that he is definitely not a bird, but an insect with a very moth-like body. The other difference is in behavior. While he does hover over his meal, he does not aggressively defend his right to it as the birds he so mimics do. In fact he seemed almost unaware of other insects, mostly bees, feeding near him. I have only seen one other Hummingbird moth in my 84 years, so this was a real treat.
Another insect who has appeared on my flowers has made himself very
unwelcome. So well adapted to his environment is this chap that for several days I did not see him. What I did see was the damage being done to my miniature rose. Leaves were chewed in half. The blossoms were being eaten before they had completely opened. I searched over and under the leaves for insects and could find nothing.
So I sprayed the plant with a Rose spray. Next evening --more damage.
This was becoming serious. I love my little rose and it had been doing so well. Now the blossoms were torn, turning brown and dying. The
shiny green leaves were ragged and changing to a maroon shade. My rose is sitting next to my rather large Geranium. It was showing no damage. But a slight movement among it's large light green leaves caught my eye. As I peered more closely I spied two long antennae
twitching ever so slightly and attached was a large green grasshopper!
I have never seen a grasshopper in the 15 years I have lived in the South. Crickets we have to spare--but no green grasshoppers. Maybe
it is due to the many Mockingbirds. I don't know. What I do know is that there is likely not just one grasshopper all alone. I sprayed him with the Rose spray. He leapt from the Geranium and disappeared into a shrub. That was two days ago. I did not see him today and there was no further damage to the rose. None of my other flowers show any sign of being chewed.. I doubt that spray would have harmed him. I hope he found it so disgusting he won't return. But how did it happen that he was apparently the only one of his kind--at least in my flower bed? This is a mystery.
Remember that Mockingbird who ate my big yellow butterfly?
Where is he now that I need him!
Today I was thrilled to witness a Hummingbird moth sipping from both the Penta and the Geranium. So very much smaller than a Hummingbird, he is so similar in behavior that he might be mistaken for a young Hummingbird. When he settled for a moment I got the chance to examine him more closely and discovered that he is definitely not a bird, but an insect with a very moth-like body. The other difference is in behavior. While he does hover over his meal, he does not aggressively defend his right to it as the birds he so mimics do. In fact he seemed almost unaware of other insects, mostly bees, feeding near him. I have only seen one other Hummingbird moth in my 84 years, so this was a real treat.
Another insect who has appeared on my flowers has made himself very
unwelcome. So well adapted to his environment is this chap that for several days I did not see him. What I did see was the damage being done to my miniature rose. Leaves were chewed in half. The blossoms were being eaten before they had completely opened. I searched over and under the leaves for insects and could find nothing.
So I sprayed the plant with a Rose spray. Next evening --more damage.
This was becoming serious. I love my little rose and it had been doing so well. Now the blossoms were torn, turning brown and dying. The
shiny green leaves were ragged and changing to a maroon shade. My rose is sitting next to my rather large Geranium. It was showing no damage. But a slight movement among it's large light green leaves caught my eye. As I peered more closely I spied two long antennae
twitching ever so slightly and attached was a large green grasshopper!
I have never seen a grasshopper in the 15 years I have lived in the South. Crickets we have to spare--but no green grasshoppers. Maybe
it is due to the many Mockingbirds. I don't know. What I do know is that there is likely not just one grasshopper all alone. I sprayed him with the Rose spray. He leapt from the Geranium and disappeared into a shrub. That was two days ago. I did not see him today and there was no further damage to the rose. None of my other flowers show any sign of being chewed.. I doubt that spray would have harmed him. I hope he found it so disgusting he won't return. But how did it happen that he was apparently the only one of his kind--at least in my flower bed? This is a mystery.
Remember that Mockingbird who ate my big yellow butterfly?
Where is he now that I need him!
My daughter lived with me for a time recently and had a beautiful pot of flowers growing on the patio just outside the dining room sliding door. Much of the pot was petunias of many beautiful colors. One evening after dark with the outside porch light on I noticed something large hovering over one of the flowers and enjoying the nectar. It was too small to be a humming bird but almost too large to be an insect. I went out to study it more closely and it continued to drink while I watched it. I was fascinated by this creature. I decided it had to be some kind of hummingbird. I have multiple feeders in my yard and many of them come to visit. Later in the evening I did some research on line and found out it was a hummingbird moth. What an amazing little guy he was. I have never seen one since. It was a treat for me too. I feel so blessed to be the type of person who, like you, gets much pleasure from simply watching and learning and appreciating the wonders of the natural world. I love to read your stories. This was, as usual, a great one.
ReplyDeleteThank you Wendy. Do you mind telling me where (just in general) you live?
DeleteI don't know the area where the Hummingbird moths are mostly seen. I have been told they are fairly common in West Virginia. Did your research mention if they migrate?
Hi Cynthia, I am happy to tell you that I live in Bend, Oregon. I do not remember coming across migrating information and right now I don't even remember how I went about finding the hummingbird moth in the first place. Google is amazing and I'm sure they steered me in the right direction. I do have to say that I too am at an advanced age of 68 years and in all those years that is the only time I ever saw one. It may be that they are active after dark and I was only blessed with the siting because the pot was by the door in plain sight and the light was on and I was looking at the right time. Maybe we don't see them for the simple reason that they are more active in the dark. I will certainly look more fully into this little creatures habits. I'll be in touch with whatever information I find that might be of interest to you. How fun it is to find others who will spend time on these kinds of conversations. I so appreciate that. Thank you.
ReplyDelete68 ! You are a youngster! My oldest child is 60. The only western state I have visited was Oklahoma when my daughter lived there. I have heard that Oregon is beautiful. One of the residents here is from Oregon.
DeleteI saw my Hummingbird moth in bright (rather hot) daytime. This community is so lit up at night that it actually interfered with the number of Fireflies we saw. This will be your "assignment"--to research the Hummingbird moth and report.
You may write to me on my e/m if you would rather than use this blog site.
story_teller_34@yahoo.com
Hi Cynthia, I appreciate and accept your invitation to find and share information about the hummingbird moth. I have done a little searching and not finding what I'm looking for. Mostly what I have come across is information on the caterpillars that are what hummingbird moths become and how destructive they are. I will keep looking and let you know.
ReplyDelete