Species of the Month: Humming-bird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum (July 2025)

The southerly airflows hitting the UK in June brought an influx of migrant species, and some are easy to look out for in gardens. The Humming-bird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum gets its name from both its behaviour and appearance, which resemble that of a hummingbird hovering and moving from flower to flower. It has greyish-brown forewings, with prominent orange hindwings which are visible in flight. This method of feeding on nectar whilst hovering is not solely restricted to this species, and is practised by other hawkmoths and to some extent also by some smaller moth species. Nonetheless the fact that the species is day-flying and the aerial mastery which the insect exhibits makes it highly distinctive when viewed well.

Humming-bird Hawk-moth distribution map up to 2022, via dgmoths.info

The caterpillars feed on bedtraws Galium sp. but they are rarely found and it seems they are seldom able to survive the winter in the UK. Consequently they most often occur as migrants from southern Europe, with influxes in extended periods of southerly winds. They can be seen visiting flowers in sunshine, extending their long proboscis into trumpet-shaped flowers; Buddleia, Red Valerian and Honesuckle are all popular nectar sources.

Mark Pollitt

SWSEIC Manager