Front view of a White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) as it feeds on Phlox flowers. We’re looking at the underside of the Moth’s wings in this photo. Look at the angle of the Moth’s wings – they are nearly perpendicular to the ground. Think about how difficult it must be for a Moth to hover like this, the gymnastics and literal gyrations that their wings need to make in order to hold their body mostly motionless.
Here’s a nice surprise from the garden last week (May 6, 2022).
White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) hovering over Phlox flowers. I like the bright patters on the Moth, and the pink-red of its hind wing.
This one had the same stop-motion quality that the previous one had. The Moth would hover with its body nearly motionless at a flower for ten or fifteen seconds, then suddenly appear at another flower. When it moved, it moved so quickly that it was like watching the Moth teleport.
White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) hovering at Phlox flowers.
I had really bright sun on this day, so was able to use a high shutter speed to ‘freeze’ the hovering Moth’s wings.
White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) feeding at a Phlox flower. Look at the angles of the wings as the Moth hovers, and at the pollen grains on the Moth’s proboscis.Close-up of Moth’s head and proboscis. You can see pollen grains coating the Moth’s proboscis.
This was a real treat because I was able to see the leading edges of the wings flexing from the air resistance as the Moth traced out a figure-eights with its wings to maintain its hover.
Another view of a White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) hovering at a Phlox flower. We’re looking at the upper surface of the wings in this photo. Look at the angles of the Moth’s forewings – the leading edges of the wings are actually pointing backwards at this point.Another view of the White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) hovering. Its forewings are pointing backwards as the Moth draws complicated figure-eights in the air, trying to maintain its hover.
The Moth must make a staggering number of calculations, consciously or not, for it to be able to hang in the air like this, keeping its body more-or-less motionless, while it uncoils its long proboscis and threads it into a flower.
