Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Fairies in the bushes

When Katie and I were walking in Las Vegas, NM the other day, I noticed something flittering around in the beautiful purple flowered bushes.  I stopped and watched them, and then ran Katie back to The Palms, got my camera and went back to get some photos.

These are truly amazing little insects.  They kind of looked like hummingbirds, kind of looked like bees; I had no idea what they were, but they fluttered from flower to flower, spending a few seconds at each one.  Their wings, which looked like double or triple layers, were moving constantly - I could hardly see them, ghost wings, they were moving so fast - like a hummingbird’s wings that never stopped.  They would hover over the flowers like a hummer, and out comes this super long tongue which goes into the flower, then rolls up underneath, like a party favor blower, and goes into it’s mouth.  Then quickly on to the next flower.

I checked on the web – John said he's heard them called Humming Bugs, so I looked them up under that, and found lots of photos.  The type I saw is called a White Lined Sphinx, and it’s a large moth.  I’ve heard of Sphinx moths, but I've never seen one until now.  They are sure interesting.  

Here is a clear close-up photo from the web, showing what they look like – their wings looked pink, white and brown when they weren’t a blur.  They are about the size of a small hummingbird.  Really pretty.  Check out how long their tongues are:


And here are some of my best photos – it was so hard to get them – most of the moths were just blurs.  These are the photos from Las Vegas along the sidewalk:






John said we had these insects here at Storrie Lake by the creek, and when Jeanne and I were walking the dogs near the bridge, we saw one that looked like it was hurt – it was just sitting on some greenery near the bridge, so it’s wings were still:


I also saw a new bird in town, a European Starling, and later saw some in the park, too:


This isn’t a good photo, but I loved the bright purple gorget which shows up so well on this Black Chinned Hummingbird:


In the field behind the electric loop where we're camped, there is a field with horses, and the other day I noticed the goats there.  I heard a loud whinnying and glanced out the window, and a little herd of goats was running through area.  Later I walked over to the fence to see them closer – how I wish I lived on a farm.  I love goats, I guess I should since I'm a Capricorn, and here they are:






WELCOME to our newest Follower, Motorhomes N Muttskeys!  They have no information available, but the name sounds like they do have an RV.  So, M N M, let me know if you have a blog or if you start one, and I'll pass the info along in a post.  Thanks for following along with us, and Welcome Aboard!

From Me and Katie, have a great Wednesday evening, everybody!

11 comments:

  1. So glad to see your new post, Barbara! I's begun worrying about you & Katie! The moth is amazing--your pohotos are great! I love goats too, especially the yummy cheese made from their milk. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The larva of the Sphinx Moth was called a tomato worm in Wisconsin. They eat tomato foliage. My wife Merikay once took a picture of a Sphinx Moth by accident! She was shooting a pic of a low-growing flowering plant in the desert, and discovered the moth in the image when she looked at it afterward.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Craig - you know, when I looked at the photos and all the information on-line, they showed that "tomato worm," and I wondered. When I used to grow tomatoes, I always killed those worms, little did I know... (They are SO ugly!) If I ever grow tomatoes again, I'll catch the worms and put them in a terrarium, feed them and wait for them to turn into Sphinx moths. That would be pretty cool. :)

      Delete
  3. We are enjoying the hummingbird moths in Moab as well Barbara.....they are amazing little insects!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now those moths are new to me! How neat! Good photos.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I personally think your pictures of the moth are as good as the one off the internet. Good to hear from you guys. I know how hard it is to do a post when you are sitting in one place for very long.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great photos Barb! I really appreciate the moths! Do they fly around after dark? I saw two "somethings" a few days ago about 12 am but couldn't see what they were doing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. From what I read, it looks like they are out around dusk - that's when I saw the moths in town, but the one by the river/bridge at the park was seen in the morning. Of course, he looked like he was dying, and there were no others in the area, so maybe the dusk timeframe is correct. I sure appreciate them, too. It was really exciting to see a new insect that was so pretty and so different. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I remember being so excited the first time I saw a Sphinx moth, and thinking that it was a hummingbird - they are just so fast, it is hard to tell. But it was dusk, and when my eyes got adjusted, it was easier to see that it wasn't a bird. This was back in 2007, so I wandered around the internet until I found information about this amazing moth. But I hadn't stumbled across the information that the tomato worm transforms into this beautiful creature. They are probably fairly rare because many gardeners do not favor having them around and take steps to see that they aren't!

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly, Judie! I could have had these beautiful moths in my yard if I wasn't so creeped out by the tomato worms and their horny heads. Even if they didn't eat up all the tomato plants, I was killing them just because - I mean CREEPY looking. :(

      Delete
  9. I've never seen anything like this moth before...very interesting! And I agree, your photos are as good as those on the internet.

    I like goats too (I'm an Aries). My brother had a goat, Cliff, who was in with his horses and I thought he was terrific. Unfortunately he (Cliff) passed away a few years ago and he (my brother) hasn't replaced him.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments - we LOVE them!